Column: Local Grads Make the World A Better Place Episode 6; Meet Gabriel Prado
Gabriel Pardo at ease
Editor’s Note - This is the sixth part in a multi-part series of columns looking at students who were educated within The Dalles School system and who have gone on to make major contributions to our community by bringing their skills and experience to make a positive impact for all of us. A huge thanks goes to Nancy Turner and Patty Rolen.
By Nancy Turner and Patty Rolen
There’s no doubt about it. Schools benefit our community. They are where children learn how to be successful members of society. There’s a lot more to it than reading, writing, and arithmetic. They have the opportunity to figure out what their talents and interests are, along with how to multi-task. It’s a place of making friends and developing social skills. Education helps reduce the crime rate because educated people can easily differentiate between right and wrong.
It behooves all of us to do our best to support our teachers and students. This column is on a mission to share with you a few of the stories about successful students who attended school in The Dalles and have returned to contribute their skills to our community.
Another student we can be proud of is Gabriel Prado. He grew up in The Dalles and graduated from The Dalles High School in 2000. His biological dad lived in Chile. Gabriel grew up with his step-dad, so used his stepdad’s last name, Clark, throughout his childhood. He attended Oregon State University for a term but it wasn’t right for him. Like many kids, he needed to figure out what he really wanted to do.
For six months Gabriel took time off from school and went to Chile and Argentina to visit relatives. This gave him a chance to get to know people on his biological father’s side of the family. After that, he moved to Oahu, Hawaii, with plans to go to school there.
A month later 9/11 happened. There were no jobs in Hawaii, so no way to pay for college. He returned to the mainland and briefly attended Linn Benton Community College. Because of 9/11, he felt drawn to go into the military. He had a strong desire to be of service. The last name on his birth certificate was Prado, so he had to switch from “Clark” to “Prado” to get into the military. In 2002 he went into the Fleet Marine Corp. Six months later he was on his way to Kuwait, then Iraq.
He was “boots on the ground.”
He spent his first tour living in holes he and his fellow Marines dug. They slept in them to avoid shells whizzing overhead. After this harrowing experience, he went into training for six months to become qualified as a Raider.
His next tour of duty was on a ship that had a Navy crew. Their task was to serve as transport of Marines. They used amphibious Zodiacs. He doesn’t like heights, but sometimes he had to be on cliffs. It was cold and miserable.
The last tour was the worst.
He worked to locate Improvised Explosive Devices and Vehicular bombs. His unit worked alongside military units from other countries like Poland and El Salvador.
His second tour took him to Najaf City in Iraq. One experience he told about was fighting for an entire week in the largest, oldest cemeteries in the world. US fighters were required to respect cultural icons. The soldiers were told not to harm the most important mosque, Shia Muslims’ Snue Im in Ali.
In total, he put in four years in the service. Gabriel looks at war differently now.
He witnessed violence.
Some of his buddies died.
He felt good helping people in foreign countries establish Democracy, but he also learned how much the news lies. Many stories get twisted.
How many enemies were killed gets exaggerated. For him, a turning point was a big argument with a friend. From this point, he began to question what he had been told were the reasons for going to war. That conversation turned his thinking away from what he’d been taught in the military. War no longer seemed right. He’s benefited from counseling for PTSD.
For a while, Gabriel did various jobs, like doing security at Google, and excavation work in Pennsylvania, making watering holes at an Elk Viewing Station, and security at Mt. Hood Meadows.
In 2008 he married Hilary Needham, who also grew up in TD. They both worked at Crestline Construction. It was during that year he decided to go into nursing. He attended classes at Columbia Gorge Community College. By then he was in his mid-twenties, and on his way to work he’d enjoy.
Gabriel has been a registered nurse in the Arlington Family Practice for ten years. He works alongside a full-time nurse practitioner and a family doctor who is available two days a week. He drives from home to Arlington, an hour each way. He’d like to coach football or baseball, but due to commuting, he doesn’t have the time.
He makes good use of his hours driving back and forth, though.
“Audiobooks are my best friends,” he said.
He sees his job in nursing as a continuation of his desire to serve the community. When he got out of the Marine Corps, he felt he’d lost his purpose. Serving others gives his life meaning. He is now most of the way through a Masters Program in Nursing. He describes himself as a lifelong learner.
Both Gabriel’s and Hilary’s families live in The Dalles. They choose to live here for the sense of community. He is comforted to know where their fourteen-year-old daughter is. He knows the school buildings.
There’s nothing new or strange, and relatives help out with childcare.
As a child growing up in The Dalles, he had the attitude of, “I’m outa here.” After being out in the world, he came to appreciate the boundless beauty of the gorge. The air is clean, and the people are friendly. He also appreciates the endless recreational activities available. For these reasons, this is home.
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