2 months ago
8
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A Central East High School elder is getting overwhelming enactment from his household and “new cousins” online aft going viral for being accepted into much than a twelve universities, including 4 Ivy League schools.
17-year-old Samuel Ruiz-Macias says he's ever enjoyed schoolhouse and getting progressive successful extracurricular activities.
"I had to get moved from my kindergarten class," Samuel said. "I deliberation I was excelling excessively quickly."
According to Samuel, helium continued to bash good successful schoolhouse - and picked up each the extracurriculars helium could successful the process.
"I played euphony erstwhile I was younger, chess clubs, transverse country, track, enactment and things similar that," Samuel said. 'I emotion school, it's similar my favourite happening ever."
Samuel's teachers and advisors accidental that adjacent arsenic a freshman astatine Central East, helium showed himself to beryllium a promising pupil and hard worker.
"I've known Samuel since astir apt his freshman year. He was decidedly an anxious pupil from the precise beginning," Central East High School Career Counselor Jill Brooks said. "He started taking dual enrollment classes aboriginal on."
Brooks says starring into Samuel's elder year, she tried to temper his expectations similar galore students. Brooks says she didn't privation Samuel to consciousness the devastation of being rejected from the assemblage you wanted to get into.
"I was trying to assistance him beryllium realistic, conscionable similar I would with immoderate different student. While secretly hoping that this would beryllium the result for him - due to the fact that I cognize however hard he's worked."
Samuel says helium struggled with impostor syndrome portion sending retired his transcripts and assemblage essays.
"My biggest obstacle is myself. I person a ton of self-doubt," Samuel said. "My mentality was always, 'I'll conscionable little their acceptance rate. I'll conscionable beryllium different 1 of the rejected people. But astatine slightest I'll bash it.' That was my mentality."
Throwing caution to the wind, Samuel sent retired his applications to respective schools, and connected Ivy Day helium opened 7 applications astatine erstwhile successful beforehand of his parents and older sister.
"I was frightened of rejection, particularly successful beforehand of my parents," Samuel said. "But it was similar occurrence aft success. I was sharing the successes with my parents, and they looked truthful excited."
Samuel and his family's absorption landed connected TikTok and gained respective 100 1000 views - with that getting respective 1000 cousins too.
"People are calling maine relative online due to the fact that like, my acceptances are their acceptances," Samuel said. "They telephone me, 'Un orgullo para la comunidad,' the pridefulness to the community."
Samuel says the enactment he's received online, connected field and astatine location means everything to him.
"A large portion of particularly similar my essays and worldly similar that was being from the Valley was being archetypal gen was being Latino," Samuel said. "This is all, like, a small spot intimidating, but I deliberation I'm conscionable truly fortunate."
Samuel hopes to survey governmental subject and yet be instrumentality schoolhouse - but for now, his toughest determination is choosing from the 15 schools that said yes.
