From East High School, Adam Chavez earned the full four-year Hurliman Scholarship.
“Personally, I feel like I was chosen for the Hurliman because of the views that I have on the world,” Adam said. “I have experienced life in a very different way than most high schoolers around me. I have lived separately from my parents since my sophomore year and held a manager position at a McDonald's.
“These experiences have matured me to a very large extent. I also have a lot of hope that the world can be changed before it is too late.”
As an Eagle, Adam received the Masonic Junior Achievement Award and a College Board Recognition Award along with “multiple other awards for my academic achievements and my involvement in the East community,” he said.
Adam graduated from East with a coveted International Baccalaureate diploma.
“Throughout my life, my educators have guided me to this point in my journey,” he explained. “Whenever I needed help or whenever I needed any personal support, my educators were always there to make sure that I was fine and that I would succeed.
“They were also a major effect in the course I wanted to take in my life.”
Adam plans to attend the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau.
“The area of study is still undetermined, but I am thinking of Environmental Engineering with a minor in Business. But I do not think that I will know until I get there.”
Along with his educators, Adam is grateful for the support and nurturing of his parents.
“I have to thank my Mom and Dad for helping me achieve this accomplishment, and any other accomplishments I receive in the future,” he said. “They had to endure so much, and persevere through so much, in order to make sure that I had a good life, and they succeeded. I just want to make them proud.
“I would also love to recognize the person that guided me through these past two years of my life, where my parents could not be at this time in my life. That person was my biggest motivator, supporter, and the greatest friend of my life. I would not be where I am without that person in my life today. They inspired me to take this journey that I am on right now and opened my eyes up to the world.”
