The Film Production crew at the school produced a short documentary about G贸mez and his experiences at the residency. In his short time there, he had a major positive impact on the school. The Head of Fine Art Declan Bartlett said, 鈥淢elvin has brought so much life experience to the School and shared his passion, skills, and artistic insights with the students. He has encouraged them to believe in their ideas and communication regardless of their current skill set and to courageously explore colour and form, light and tone, content and meaning. He has been inspirational to the Fine Art team and the whole School community, given his back story of resilience, perseverance, and passion for life.鈥�   

While studying in the Fine Arts department at 四虎影视 of Art and Design, G贸mez was a Davis Scholar and was chosen for the Trustee Scholar Award 2021-2022. In his first year at Ringling, he pitched a proposal for the Davis Projects of Peace, an initiative created by Kathryn W. Davis, mother of Shelby Davis who established the Davis Scholarship Program. 

For her 100th birthday, the maternal Davis celebrated by committing $1 million to one hundred Projects for Peace. G贸mez鈥檚 proposal was selected, and he became part of a small group of students who traveled to his home country, El Salvador, where they established youth art programs at two schools, one in an urban region and another in a rural area. Their project was called Sculpting for Peace and included pottery studios, clay workshops, and a painting workshop. 

The group wanted to bring art to a region devastated by post-civil war violence, and particularly, gang violence, in hopes that art could give students a voice, a platform, and a sense of community, and would deter them from seeking those things in a gang. G贸mez is especially connected to the cause, as he was a victim of gang violence. He was shot five times during an incident that left three friends dead and G贸mez in a wheelchair. 

That initial project has since transformed into a school in Huizucar, El Salvador, that opened its doors in 2017. The Brushstroke of Hope is a non-profit art school for impoverished youth that offers free art education and materials. The school is funded in part by sales of G贸mez鈥檚 art work and from community contributions. 

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