MHS graduate, Oscar Rodrigo Araiza Bravo, who recently was awarded a full scholarship to Harvard University to study physics, spoke with MHS students Monday, May 20. Araiza Bravo graduated from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign with degrees in mathematics and engineering physics. He will begin his doctoral studies in the fall. He began his career at MHS speaking little English and navigating through the English Language Learners (ELL) program.

“Things don’t just HAPPEN to us,” Araiza Bravo told the students, “we make our decisions and we make things happen.”  He spoke about some of the hardships he encountered along the way like having an initial bad ACT test score or not being eligible for many scholarships.

“When things go wrong, it’s easy to just give up,” he said, “but if you have goals and dreams you just keep pushing and keep doing everything possible to reach those goals.”

Araiza Bravo explained that his goal is to become a college professor in the field of physics. He also gave credit to his ELL teachers and a special shout out to the staff and students who were part of his interest in acting, singing and dancing. He played the part of Romeo in the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet during his junior year.

When asked if being bilingual is an advantage in his life, Araiza Bravo said it definitely is helpful in reading documents in either language and in helping students with their work which he often did as a teaching assistant at U of I.

The Harvard-bound student said he is taking the advice of his parents and is “doing whatever makes you happy.”