We've heard the saying: If they can see it, they can be it.That is exactly what a Grant High School graduate is doing.The Sacramento clinical engineer is on a mission to inform young people about this rewarding career.In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Jose Alvarez shared his story that involved breaking barriers and expanding career opportunities for more Latinos.When Alvarez was growing up in Del Paso Heights, he never imagined he could one day be an engineer and lead the merger of the old Sutter Hospital with the new one."Growing up in the construction industry, my uncles were drywallers, cement guys," Alvarez said. "I was doing a lot of side work with them."Then, an engineer in his neighborhood invited him to check out his work site."One day, my next-door neighbor said, 'You have been doing a lot of construction work. Do you want to come with me and hold a survey rod? I will pay you 75 bucks an hour.' I was 13 years old. He was like, 'One day, You could be like these guys instead of being the construction worker. Why don't you become an engineer?' He put the seed in my head. He was also a civil engineer," Alvarez said.When he got to high school, he was good at math, and he was also a star football player for Grant High School, even helping the team win a championship.He always made sure to keep his eye on the prize."From there, I wanted to be an engineer. I started researching and reading books, trying to find out more about engineering," Alvarez said.He often heard people say he couldn't make it. The naysayers fueled his drive to succeed."For me, it was knowing that my parents had no education, so I wanted as many degrees as I could. My mom went to second grade, and she always told me to go to school, go to school, go to school, and know I have three degrees," Alvarez said.After surviving what he calls Einstein math and graduating from Santa Clara University on a scholarship, he now coordinates the purchases of Sutter Hospital's high-tech equipment and helps to build operating rooms.Alvarez had a full circle moment when his dad, a stage four cancer patient, ended up at Sutter. He built the room, and his dad was one of the first patients to go in there. He came out of surgery cancer-free."One of the coolest things. I'm indebted to Sutter for this," Alvarez said.Fewer than 9% of U.S. engineers are Latinos. These are statistics that Alvarez is working hard to change.He spends time at schools, letting young people know about STEM careers, especially if they like video games."We could see that the doctors that play video games are better off with the robotic system because it's hand-eye coordination vs a doctor that didn't get trained," Alvarez said.He offers this advice to anyone looking to follow in his footsteps."Our kids in high school need to start getting good grades to get them to the next level," Alvarez said. "If we don't get good grades, we are not going to get to the next level."Alvarez's next big project is remodeling Sutter Hospital by 2030.He credits being bilingual as his superpower that has helped him get to the next level.Alvarez's current title is clinical engineer, but he hopes to one day be the company's CEO.This story was produced as part of the KCRA 3 special "Celebrando Nuestras Raíces."See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter