Mario’s family immigrated to the United States from Mexico in order to escape rural poverty and to give him a better future. Born in Los Angeles, his first experience was that of being homeless, as his family slept on factory floors. From then on, Mario's mom worked in clothing factories to make sure him and his two siblings always had food and shelter. This was difficult with an income of less that fifteen thousand dollars a year. During his high school years, resources for higher education were scarce, with one college counselor available for 5,000 students. He credits his AP World History teacher for the mentorship and guidance that helped him gain admission to college. 

Despite many obstacles and his status as an undocumented student, he became the first person in his family to graduate college- majoring in history and Political Science from California State University, Los Angeles. Upon graduation, he will advocate for low income immigrant communities in the areas of housing rights and immigrant rights by providing accessible legal services. He also sees himself running for local office someday to represent the neighborhood and community in which he was raised. He is pursuing his JD at the University of San Francisco School of Law.