Erick Meza is what most would consider a scholar. He has a 4.837 grade point average and attends Bartow High's IB program.
But that’s not what makes this high school senior stand out: he got accepted into not one, not two but three prestigious universities.
“Towards the end of March and April I had already had my acceptances already for sure," Meza said. "So at that point I was deciding between MIT, Princeton and Harvard.”
And he’s wearing his Harvard 2019 t-shirt with pride.
Meza comes from a family of migrant workers.
“My mom stays home to watch over the kids now, but we travel together as a family -- so I think it’s the whole family,” Meza said.
Surprisingly the family’s moving didn’t stop Meza from excelling at Bartow High's IB program. It’s something migrant advocates like Meylin Nickerson says is rare but great to see.
“Erick just happens to be a pretty remarkable student. He stands out,” Nickerson said. “He’s very quiet, he’s very humble. But he does stand out in his own way. He’s like this quiet force.”
A quiet force with a loud message to others like him.
“I’m not actually sure the message is sent to the kids,” said Meza. “It sends a bigger message to the parents because the parents are the ones who came here with the intent to work so their kids can have more opportunity.”
It’s an opportunity Meza says he plans to maximize.
The teenager says he plans to study physics at Harvard University. He hasn’t made any other plans just yet. For now he’s just focused on attending the prom this weekend.