Senior Nathan Vasquez accomplished the incredible feat of taking home not just a few scholarships at Senior Awards, but an astounding nine. The Colt interviewed him about this achievement.

The Colt: We heard that you got a couple of awards Monday night, what were some of the ones that you received?

Nathan Vasquez: I got the Class of ‘57 Scholarship, the PTA scholarship…I got quite a few, I can’t name them all off the top of my head.

TC: Do you remember what you wrote your essays about?

NV: Most of my essays really pertained to what my future plans are and why I deserve [the scholarship], just to try to set me apart from other applicants.

TC: What are some of the things you’ve done during your time at AHS that you think have proved that you’re a good investment in the future?

NV: Oh, all the organizations I’m in, all the extracurricular activities I’m in. I’ve done football, track, wrestling, I’ve been in symphony orchestra for three years, Key Club, PALS, NHS, Young Life, FCA, Colt Cornerstone, Ignite. I’ve volunteered at multiple organizations, so I have a really long resume. I feel like that qualifies me and shows my commitment to really go out of my way to not only excel in class, but to do a bunch of other stuff as well.

TC: So what are some of the things you plan on doing at UT?

NV: I will be majoring in petroleum engineering and I’ll be in the honors engineering program which is a really big deal, only a few people are selected to be in it so that was really awesome. I plan on becoming a Young Life leader at UT, I’ve loved Young Life at Arlington High. I also plan on rushing a Christian fraternity, something to keep me from going crazy from all the freedom, to just stay chill and have fun at the same time.

TC: Was UT your first choice when you were applying to colleges?

NV: It was not, I applied to three schools and UT was the last one. Baylor was my first choice, and A&M was my second choice. Baylor gave me a ton of money, and I’ve always wanted to go there, but for petroleum engineering, Baylor is not the school to go to, it’s A&M or UT that are the top schools in the nation for it, and I had to make the adult decision to choose which one to do.

TC: Why petroleum engineering?

NV: I really like chemistry and I knew I wanted to go into the engineering field. I did a little bit of research, and I just got turned onto petroleum engineering.

TC: Going back to all the scholarships, is there anything that you have to say about that?

NV: Oh, it’s a huge honor, not to only have just received one or two, but nine was a huge deal, I’m so super thankful. My dad never graduated high school, I’m the first high school graduate in my family, and so just to have people decide to invest in me and to go out next year and to be the first one in my family is just a huge honor.