For Nogales High School Senior Juan Valdez, he was shocked when he got the news that he was headed for Harvard. It is an impressive accomplishment for anyone, especially for someone who came to this country just four years ago.
“I was actually in my car with my parents and on my phone checking emails. I didn’t expect to get into an ivy league school. I had other colleges that I was accepted to and would be happy to go to, but then I saw the confetti on my screen and thought, ok…this is really happening!”
Valdez’s entire family were also astonished with his full-ride scholarship. “There was a mutual feeling of excitement but then our disbelief turned to silence. It began to sink in. The sacrifice that we have done to be in this country has paid off. We came from Guadalajara, Mexico when I was in the 8th grade. I didn’t know a word of English so I had to learn it from scratch. But thanks to the support of teachers, friends and family members, they were able to push me to be who I am. The fact that I worked hard, and the process got me where I am today has brought me so much happiness.”
Valdez is an International Baccalaureate student who has received numerous awards. He was selected as a Pepperdine Youth Citizenship Scholar where he went through a rigorous justice training in leadership. He also received the prestigious Award of Excellence from the Congress of Future Medical Leaders. Valdez has the coveted distinction of being a QuestBridge Prep Scholar, a national program that identifies and tracks the best and the brightest high-achieving high school students from low-income backgrounds with the knowledge, confidence, and resources to apply to top colleges for a full-ride scholarship when they are juniors. He made the choice to apply to colleges as a regular applicant, versus a QuestBridge College Match Scholarship, to keep his choices open. Last month, Valdez also received the SchoolHouse Connection Scholarship and was awarded $2,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. He loves music and has been involved in the Nogales Noble Regiment Band all four years and has fun playing his piano and ukulele at home when he has free time.
Valdez was accepted to many colleges, including Claremont McKenna, UCLA and Stanford, but it was the prestige of Harvard, their amazing research program in molecular and cellular biology, and studying on the East Coast that made his decision easy. He received a full-ride scholarship to Harvard that will meet his entire cost of attendance with zero incurred debt.
“Juan is an anomaly among a generation that is influenced and exposed to constant messages about who and what they should be,” says Ricardo Ramirez, RUSD College Liaison. “He is strong-willed, fearless, and has achieved exponential personal growth and self-actualization at an age where students like him are gradually making sense of the world around them. He is simply that phenomenal.”
Last week he was able to take a virtual campus tour through the Harvard Visitas event. “I’ve met so many students already from different backgrounds that will make the transition phase a little easier once I get to Harvard. One of the Harvard students he has connected with and can't wait to meet when he arrives is Nogales Noble alumni Osvaldo Cervantes, who was a 2019 Gates Scholarship winner.
“Additionally, I have been able to speak to representatives from the undocumented communities, especially from the Act on a Dream group that advocates for immigrant and undocumented rights. Harvard has a really nice campus, spacious and it is usually cold which I’m particularly excited about. There’s a ton of different things to do and clubs I am looking forward to joining once I start. The professors I met are really nice, understanding and incredibly smart as well. It’s a little intimidating but I’m sure I will thrive in that environment.”
We can't wait to share more senior spotlights in the next issue!
