Born in a small Mexican village, Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa hopped the border into California in 1987 the day before his 19th birthday — with no English and $65 in his pocket. Today, he is a celebrated brain surgeon, cancer researcher, and author.

Quiñones-Hinojosa’s California journey began in the fields around Fresno, where he picked tomatoes and cotton during the day, and studied English at night. He put himself through San Joaquin Delta Community College. “These very same hands that now do brain surgery, right around that time they had scars everywhere from pulling weeds,” he once said. “They were bloody.”

Quiñones-Hinojosa applied to U.C. Berkeley, and to his shock, was accepted with a full scholarship. Next stop: Harvard Medical School, where he graduated with honors.

Following stints at U.C. San Francisco and Johns Hopkins, Quiñones-Hinojosa is now chairman of neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. In his spare time, he leads research to find a cure for brain cancer.

In his autobiography, Quiñones-Hinojosa wrote that rich countries are happy to welcome “the Einsteins of this world.” But, he added, “the most entrepreneurial, innovative, motivated citizen is the one who has been given an opportunity and wants to repay the debt.”

A few years ago, Quiñones-Hinojosa’s story caught the attention of Brad Pitt. The actor has teamed up with Walt Disney to make a movie about his life.

This article is from the California Sun, a newsletter that delivers must-read stories to your inbox each morning . Sign up here.