Johnson High School senior receives $1.2M in scholarship offers

Johnson High School senior Brandon Vazquez Munoz collected more than $1.2 million in scholarship offers, North East ISD officials said May 16.

Munoz said in a statement that he was surprised to receive so much attention in his search for a college to attend.

“Honestly, I did not expect this. I was hoping to get something, but over [$1 million], I was very surprised. I think I owe a good portion of my success and everything I’ve achieved to AVID,” Munoz said in the statement.

AVID is Advancement Via Individual Determination, a nonprofit organization that develops a series of courses designed to prepare high school students for college and success in the world after college. In the release, Munoz attributed much of his academic success to his participation in AVID’s programs.

NEISD officials said Munoz, a first-generation U.S. citizen, will be a first-generation college student at Cornell University, where he will study mechanical engineering.

According to a school district news release, one scholarship offer from the Gates Scholarship Program, operated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, provides more than $320,000 toward college.

“Coming into this, I didn’t know much about college, and the AVID program does a really good job of explaining things and walking you through the process,” Munoz said in a statement. “With scholarships, for example, I was made aware of way more scholarships than I could have found on my own. It feels really nice to have support behind you and to know you’re not in this alone.”