Emmanuel Hernandez grew up the eldest of five children whose parents did not speak English and completed their education in the equivalent of 6th grade before moving to the US from Mexico. While Emmanuel knew in elementary school that he wanted to be a doctor, he had no idea how much work it would entail. He had to figure out on his own how to navigate school, and it wasn’t until participating in AVID as a middle schooler that he first considered college as an option. It was AVID’s curriculum that helped him understand that he would have to go even beyond college to be a doctor, but it was also AVID that helped him create a plan to reach his goal.
Through AVID Emmanuel joined a cohort of students and developed skills—focused note-taking, organization, time management, and collaboration—that would help him through the rest of his education. AVID provided him the confidence to take an active role in both his school and community. The skills he acquired enabled him to serve as student body president at Jordan-Matthews High School for three years and participate in Orgullo Latinx Pride through the Hispanic Liaison.
“With AVID, I was able to establish a strong presence that made me a distinctive college applicant,” Emmanuel said. “Along with connecting me with other like-minded students, AVID gave me access to a wealth of resources that let me pave the road for a brighter future–including scholarships, programs and much more.”
– Emmanuel Hernandez,
Jordan Matthews High School ’24
Indeed, Emmanuel graduated last year from Jordan-Matthews at the top of his class and is now at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy-League school, on a full-ride scholarship. He is the first Latino from Siler City to be awarded the prestigious Questbridge National College Match. His family couldn’t be prouder.
The Chatham Education Foundation is a driving force behind Chatham County Schools’ investment in the AVID program. AVID is unlike other college prep programs. It is student-centric, requires strong teacher development, and teaches strategies for K-12 and beyond. In 2024, 100% of Chatham’s AVID students were accepted into a 2- or 4-year degree program and were offered more than $18 million in scholarships. We continue to expand this hugely successful program so that more of our Chatham County students can follow in Emmanuel’s footsteps, but we need your help.
As Emmanuel said, “Although I was among the first to achieve such, I hope that I won’t be the last as long as Chatham’s AVID program is in place. It has the potential to genuinely change the lives of students in the area.”
