Gus Romo grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. His parents came from large families that immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1950s and 1960s. Gus Romo’s parents instilled the importance of education and a strong work ethic in him. He graduated with a 4.0 GPA from Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park, California, and received a full scholarship to Pepperdine University. In his second year of college, he transferred to Cal Poly Pomona University after learning about the School of Environmental Design and the accredited Urban and Regional Planning program.