Latina student graduates concurrently from high school and college with honors in NJ; her Mexican parents did not finish school

Daniela Velázquez, a teenage daughter of Mexican parents, is so bright that she graduated from high school and college at the same time in New Jersey, and in both cases she was elected the “best student”.

Velázquez, 18, received the academic honor last month from both his high school, Passaic Preparatory Academy, and Passaic County Community College, whose early college program he entered in 2020 thanks to his stellar grades.

“It’s a great program for my high school students, especially because my city is a low-income area, so the college credits we receive help a lot with the financial problems we may run into in the future,” the Passaic native told New York Post.

In addition to his high school workload, where he earned a 4.576 GPA, he took college-level courses virtually for two years, earning a 3.99 GPA and his associate’s degree.

On a typical school day, I would take six high school classes in the morning and spend my afternoons completing two or three college courses. such as ethics, sociology and psychology. He also had time to star in musicals, join student government, and launch his first chess club.

He also won an award for his volunteer work, which includes being part of a youth council helping low-income residents, delivering backpacks to children, and feeding the homeless.

“My parents never had the opportunity to graduate from high school, let alone college,” he said. “My mother never graduated from high school. Her last grade was 4th because she was very poor in his country, so she had to stay home and take care of her younger siblings. My mom… told me that I would graduate from high school for her. It’s definitely a moment I replay in my head often.”

He also had to explain to both of them what the word ‘valedictorian’ meant, which corresponds to the student who usually has highest academic achievement in the class. But “They reminded me that they would be proud even if I didn’t have the title,” he said.

in the fall he will attend Columbia University in NYC on a partial scholarship, where he will major in psychology and film studies. She was admitted to the Ivy League school through QuestBridgea non-profit organization connecting motivated low-income students with opportunities in higher education.