Durant High School senior Jose Perez has moved 57 times to different cities, following the growing seasons and helping his family of migrant workers in the fields. During his sophomore year of high school, his family finally settled in Plant City. But despite all his travels, Perez has been able to succeed academically in school.
His most recent success was being named a National Hispanic Scholar. Perez learned of the title this past summer and thought it was “just another thing.” But during the first pep rally of the school year, he was called up on stage at honored as a scholar. Now, every time colleges send him letters, they congratulate him on his award.
“I realized it really is a big deal,” Perez said.
Only 32 students earned the title in Hillsborough County. Two students at Strawberry Crest High School, Daniel De Brigard and Christopher Mamuscia, also earned the honor.
The title is part of the National Hispanic Recognition Program which identifies outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. Each year, the NHRP honors about 5,000 students from more than 250,000 hispanic juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT.
Scholars must have at least a 3.0 grade-point average and score a qualifying score on the PSAT/NMSQT during their junior year of high school.
De Brigard said his IB classes and AP classes prepared him well for the test.
“I was in the process of applying to different schools when I found out that I was a scholar, so I used it in a lot of my applications,” De Brigard said.
De Brigard applied locally to the University of Florida and the University of South Florida and to other colleges, including New York University and the University of Chicago. He plans to major in a science or biological field.
Like most teenagers, De Brigard likes to play sports and read mystery and sci-fi books. His father is Hispanic and grew up speaking Spanish with his family for the first 10 years of his life.
Mamuscia has been accepted to the University of South Florida, but he also has applied to the Rochester Institute of Technology and Champlain College, among others. He plans to get a degree in computer science.
Mamuscia first got into technology when his uncle gave him a Playstation. He began playing video games and then branched out to computers. He also likes to play music on the piano, guitar, harmonica and violin.
“I like Chopin and Beethoven,” Mamuscia said. “They’re my favorite dudes.”
Mamuscia’s mother is from Puerto Rico, and he visits the island every summer.
Perez has applied to many Ivy League schools, including Yale and Harvard. He hopes to be accepted to Harvard but is not sure what he wants to study. He will be the first in his family to go to college.
“My parents always instilled the importance of education in me,” Perez said. “It’s been one of my greatest blessings. I always wanted to go to college, because I want to give back to my parents who have given me so much, and because I want to change this world. I don’t plan on leaving this world like it is.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.