Angel Gomez earns an acceptance to Princeton due to his exceptional four years.
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After countless sleepless nights busy with school, work, and soccer, senior Angel Gomez achieved the ultimate payout when college decisions were sent out to
thousands of seniors across the
world. Gomez opened his email on April 6th. He had just finished distracting himself with video-games anxiously waiting for news from various schools he applied to. Upon opening his email he was greeted by a surprise that would spread across Paso High and decide where he will likely spend the rest of his academic career; he was accepted to Princeton.
Princeton’s acceptance rate is less than five percent, accepted students have an average unweighted GPA of 3.9, and the average SAT score is 1460-1570. Under the classification of an Ivy League Princeton has earned a reputation as one of the most difficult schools in the world to attend.
To many in Gomez’s life his acceptance to Princeton came as no surprise.
“Angel was one of my most extraordinary students I’ve had in any class… If he didn’t get in somewhere it’s because they made a mistake,”
said AVID-12 teacher Theodore Wagner.
Gomez built a reputation for himself as a natural leader guiding his classes.
“Angel would typically be the one in the group, if there wasn’t anyone who understood something, he was the one who was going to explain it. But he wasn’t going to explain it the regular way. He was going to explain it like he was the teacher, and I think for many of his fellow avid students, they kind of thought of him like a teacher.” Wagner said.
Busy days were not uncommon for Gomez. Mondays were especially difficult for Gomez; After school he would work from 5:00pm to 2:00am as a manager at Taco Bell.
The high stress job helped Angel build his work ethic in all aspects of his life.
”My uniform is all dirty, it’s stressful, there’s a lot of noises, and there’s a mess on the ground and everything is all a mess, but eventually we would clean it and be finished.” Gomez stated.
Gomez’s high school experience was not only work and school. After classes returned to in person instruction and sports resumed he began his fourth year playing soccer. As a center defender he was the last line of defense on his team.
“The stress and pressure [from soccer] allowed me to learn how to be cool and collected during moments in my life where I felt like I had too much to bear.”
To most, a move across the country would be a nerve racking experience, but Gomez is excited.
“I really want to leave at this point right now—like right now.” Gomez stated.
Coming from Lilian Larsen, a small school in his hometown San Miguel, Gomez feels a sense of home at Princeton and prefers the more rural secluded area, and although visiting Princeton for the first time he felt at home.
“It was Princeton or UCLA and I went to UCLA and Princeton. Princeton is a smaller school, it’s less busy, and it’s kinda in a rural area. In order to get there you have to cross a lake and go through a groove of trees like nature. I prefer that to LA which is really busy and has too much traffic. I’m just more of a closed off person especially because of Lillian Larsen,” Gomez said.
The blast of Gomez’s time at PRHS sent him barreling across the country. The audience can’t wait to see where Gomez will launch himself in the encore.
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