A SCHOOL’S FIRST LATINO SALUTATORIAN STRIVES TO PROVE IMMIGRANT FAMILIES ARE THE ‘BACKBONE’ OF US

He met U.S. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden.

He’s Harvard-bound and now, 18-year-old Roberto Quesada can say he is the first Latino salutatorian at his Brooklyn Technical High School in New York.

As the son of immigrants, he hopes the honor can show the nation how «we’re capable of so much.»

“For me, this was a really big moment because I didn’t expect to be taught at a school like Brooklyn Tech,” said Quesada. “It’s 1,500 students but students actually have to test into the school. … I knew that all the students there are already very academically driven and very smart.”

Quesada was accepted to Harvard, has a full scholarship and altogether, has also earned over $150,000 in scholarships through different organizations.

And he wasn’t the only one at Brooklyn Tech who made history. His classmate, Afifa Tanisa, became the first hijabi valedictorian and will attend Columbia University, majoring in applied mathematics. She also comes from an immigrant family, she told the school’s newspaper.

Quesada ‘inspired’ by immigrant parents

Quesada started studying to get into Brooklyn Tech in seventh grade.  Since attending school there, he has received multiple awards for his hard work, including a Coca-Cola scholarship that is awarded to 150 students out of 91,000 applicants.

Going to Harvard has been a goal of Quesada’s since freshman year, he said.