Faces of Temple: David Lopez

Year: Junior

School: College of Liberal Arts

Major: Political science and philosophy

Home town: Hazleton, Pa. (Luzerne County)

Why I chose Temple: "Temple was affordable for me. But it was also because Temple offers great networking opportunities. I was set on going to Washington, D.C., for college, but then I started to realize that Philadelphia offered just as many opportunities, and I could still do an internship in D.C. — and that's what I did. Philadelphia has given me a competitive edge."

Transformative moment: "It happened before I even became a Temple student, when I took a campus tour. My tour guide blew me out of the water. I decided I wanted to be a tour guide too, so I became an Owl Ambassador. It's busy, it's crazy and it has been the foundation of everything that I've done at Temple. You meet people. You build relationships. That's how I got involved in Temple Student Government, for instance. I'm thinking of running for TSG president. Public service is something I've always been interested in. I want to go to law school and one day be an elected official. Being an Owl Ambassador has helped, because to succeed in public service, you have to be well spoken and be able to think on your feet."