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Gustavo Morales ’12 always thought he would be a doctor. And maybe he will be someday. But for now he is executive director of Euvalcree, an Eastern Oregon-based nonprofit that provides services, training and advocacy for underrepresented populations in eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington and southwestern Idaho. His career is an example of the way skills, interests, opportunities and education can lead to unexpectedly rewarding destinations. 

He graduated from ��ɳ���� University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a neuroscience emphasis, entered naturopathic medical school in Portland, with the intention of practicing natural medicine. A year-and-a-half from graduation, his career took a detour. 

When he went home to Ontario for the holidays, and then again in the summer, he found himself drawn to the idea of working with others to build an organization that would represent and advocate for Latinos and others in the region along the Oregon-Idaho border. 

“I found myself with a very high affinity for it,” Morales recalled. “I found myself thinking more about that than about medical school.”

Euvalcree was launched in November 2014, and Morales was appointed its first executive director. The organization’s scope envelopes a broad spectrum of daily life in the region, with programs ranging from providing access to healthcare to promoting energy savings to fostering entrepreneurship. The nonprofit advocates for policy improvements in Salem, trains youth to become leaders, and provides legal assistance, among other things. It runs more than 30 programs in eight counties, has a staff of 28, and is hiring more.

“The work I’m doing, I feel excited about,” he said. “It’s constantly changing. It’s constantly adapting. I’m not standing still.”