VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — Juansimon Angel is a senior at Valdosta High School. He recently received a full scholarship through the questbridge program and will be attending one of the top ten universities in the country, the University of Chicago. The program, Questbridge, is for first generation or low-income students who excel in their academics.
Angel says, "I’m an immigrant myself so when I came to this country I obviously had a lot of hopes and dreams.”
It’s safe to say his dreams are definitely coming true. Over 50,000 students apply and only 1,000 people are chosen. Though there’s no mystery as to how Juansimon grabbed their attention. He not only is a high achieving student but is also apart of several school activities. To name a few he is the class vice president, speech captain of the debate club, vice president of the beta club and much more. Those are some of the very reasons his school counselor thought he was the perfect candidate.
His school counselor, Shantae Roland, says, “He was definitely a student that showed a lot of self-initiative. I hope that his story encourages students to take advantage of their own personal endeavors.”
Juansimon goes on to share how important his mother’s role was in this process also. She served as an inspiration for him and even teaches at his school. After previously being a lawyer for over 20 years in their home country Colombia, her goals did not stop there. Diana Acero Angel went on to obtain her citizenship earlier this year. Diana says her son has always been a high achiever and goes on to express just how proud she is of him.
Diana Acero Angel says, “For me this is the most proudest moment of my life.”
Juansimon says he wants to encourage kids that they can do it too.
