Will Bermudez was merely trying to catch a pop fly when his life took an unexpected turn.

In May 2019, during a travel baseball game, the 17-year-old Air Force baseball commit collided with a teammate, resulting in temporary paralysis from the waist down. Additionally, he suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused a temporary loss of five years of memory.

Bermudez experienced his first epileptic seizure two months post-injury and was subsequently diagnosed with myoclonic juvenile epilepsy. Consequently, the Air Force withdrew its offer for him to play baseball.

“My dream was to attend the Air Force Academy, become an aeronautical engineer, build aircraft, and eventually fly jets,” Bermudez shared. “However, post-injury, math, chemistry, and similar subjects didn’t resonate with me as they did before.”

Despite facing a challenging road ahead, Bermudez's determination led him back to the baseball field.

Currently, Bermudez is a redshirt senior at UC Irvine, and alongside Mya Wang, a Cal graduate, he has been chosen to receive the 2024-25 CalHOPE Courage Award. Wang will be honored with her award on Wednesday, prior to the San Francisco Giants' game against the Kansas City Royals, as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. Bermudez will receive his award during baseball practice this week.

The CalHOPE Courage Award, presented monthly since February 2022, recognizes student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome stress, anxiety, and mental trauma from personal challenges and adversity. Wang and Bermudez were selected from 14 student-athletes honored throughout the year as those whose stories best embody the award's spirit.

Bermudez underwent extensive rehabilitation and developed coping skills through mental health counseling.

Gradually, Bermudez made progress. He initially enrolled at UC Davis, then transferred to Mount San Antonio College to give baseball another try.

Bermudez impressed on the field, catching the attention of UC Irvine’s coaching staff. He transferred there in 2023 and secured a starting position at second base.

“I now have a deeper appreciation for both the sport and life,” Bermudez expressed. “There was a point when I doubted I’d ever walk again.”

Thanks to his personal journey, Bermudez is majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology and is committed to aiding those facing mental health challenges.

Wang encountered her own obstacles just two weeks before graduating from University High School in Irvine when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

“I was completely blindsided,” Wang recalled. “Hearing the doctor say I had cancer was hard to process mentally because it was so unexpected.”

Following her diagnosis, Wang embarked on a two-year journey filled with surgeries, soul-searching, and learning mental coping strategies.

Wang withdrew from the lacrosse team as a freshman at Cal to focus on recovery and finding a way forward. At times, she questioned whether she would ever return to the sport and considered quitting lacrosse altogether.

Nevertheless, Wang persevered. After recovering from her first surgery, she played for Team Hong Kong at the 2022 World Championships, reigniting her desire to rejoin Cal’s team.

“I thought, ‘This is a commitment I made, and I’m going to follow through and see how it feels,’” Wang said of the 2022 championships. “It was a pivotal moment for me, along with reading self-help books and working on my mental health.”

Unfortunately, Wang needed a second surgery.

This time, she was better equipped thanks to the coping mechanisms she had developed. Ultimately, Wang returned to the Cal lacrosse team in 2023.

Wang expressed immense pride in her comeback.

“It taught me that I don’t have to give up,” Wang said. “I have so much ahead of me. Just because something happened to me doesn’t mean I need to abandon my goals. If anything, it motivates me to prove I can still achieve them, even when faced with challenges.”