{"id":335523,"date":"2026-05-28T04:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335523\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:42:10","slug":"mira-monte-high-school-senior-to-attend-stanford-in-the-fall-semester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335523\/","title":{"rendered":"Mira Monte High School senior to attend Stanford in the Fall semester"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 As graduation approaches for seniors across Kern County, Mira Monte High School valedictorian Joshua Chavez is preparing for his next chapter \u2014 heading to Stanford University this fall.<\/p>\n

But Chavez says the moment is about more than just grades or college acceptance letters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re all, like, standing on the edge of our accomplishments,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cWe’re all really proud of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n

Chavez is graduating as one of three valedictorians at Mira Monte High School with a 4.5 GPA \u2014 the highest possible GPA in the Kern High School District.<\/p>\n

Still, he says attending a private university was never originally part of the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’d already thought, like, all right, I’m gonna try and apply to UC, CSUs,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cIn my headspace, I was like, I’m going to be so lucky if I get into one of those top schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

That changed after encouragement from his siblings.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then my siblings were like, \u2018Shoot your shot. Try private,\u2019\u201d Chavez said.<\/p>\n

He ended up applying to several private universities including Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Columbia and NYU, at one point finishing some applications moments before deadlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI literally submitted some of the applications like 30 seconds before the deadlines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At first, Chavez believed he would likely attend UCLA after being accepted there and at UC Berkeley. But then came decisions he never expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one I submitted 30 seconds before the deadline. It was Yale,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cThen I open it \u2014 black screen \u2014 and I just see a video start playing. I’m like, \u2018Oh my God, it actually happened.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He then receives another surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI open up Stanford \u2014 accepted,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cI’m like, \u2018Oh my God, what am I gonna do? I gotta make a choice now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After visiting both campuses, Chavez ultimately chose Stanford.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just enjoyed the vibe,\u201d he said. \u201cI enjoyed the people I met, and I feel like it will be the right school for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Stanford, Chavez plans to study economics while also looking into a future career in law. He says he hopes to either become a litigation attorney or an immigration lawyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still want to help my community,\u201d Chavez said.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n

Throughout high school, Chavez stayed heavily involved on campus and in the community. He participated in track and field, served as president of College Bound, joined clubs including National Honor Society and Spanish Club, and even started his own leadership organization called \u201cUplift.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea came after Chavez says he was rejected from another local leadership program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t want to get deterred by that,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cI still wanted to help my community out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through Uplift, students helped fundraise and organize community projects, including making Christmas gifts for hospice patients and volunteering during the holidays.<\/p>\n

Chavez also attended the Hispanic National Bar Foundation law camp in Washington D.C., where he met Latino lawyers and participated in a mock trial inside a real courtroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the best experiences ever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite his accomplishments, Chavez says he did not always see himself this way. He described himself as shy during his freshman year and says it took time to become more involved.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it’s scary in the beginning,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cBut you got to put one foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, as graduation nears, Chavez hopes younger students understand that success is possible \u2014 even when self-doubt creeps in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to achieve your goals, do it tired, do it scared, do it anyway,\u201d Chavez said.<\/p>\n

He also hopes students remember that high school is about more than building a resume.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don’t want to see a resume,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cThey want to see a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 As graduation approaches for seniors across Kern County, Mira Monte High School valedictorian Joshua Chavez…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-335523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}