From Technology High School in Newark, south to Princeton University. That’s the story of 18-year-old Emilio Hernandez, one of the 156 graduating seniors this year.
Hernandez got into Harvard and Princeton, but chose to stay in New Jersey. He said he didn’t think he’d get in to these schools.
“I remember watching videos on Instagram of statistics that these students got into. And I was like wow I don’t think I can compare to these people,” said Hernandez.
He said finding out he got into Princeton was pretty overwhelming.
“It was amazing, strong joy, like I was really happy,” he said. “I remember when I saw the letter of acceptance the tears started coming out, I hugged my Mom, like it was very emotional.”
He says he wants to study aerospace engineering, and that he was inspired by his uncle, who works for NASA in Houston. He has already designed a model spacecraft using professional software and led a team in developing a system to automate food sorting.
So what really put him over the top in the admissions process?
“I think one of my strong suits was my writing. I remember I talked about life in Newark, about being exposed to different cultures and how that shaped me and I guess my view of the world,” said Hernandez. “Respecting everyone’s beliefs, ideals, backgrounds.”
Hernandez is also a black belt in karate and a community activist, working on the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Newark and organizing a group called Youth Ricans to help young people in the Puerto Rican community.