A proud family couldn’t hide their emotion when a son – who is the first family member to attend college – discovered he had been accepted to Harvard. Noel Moctezuma Mendez gathered around a laptop at home in Austin, Texas, with mom Maria Zapata and sisters Vaneza and Liliana Mendez to check on his application via the college’s online portal. When Noel saw the application has been updated and read the congratulatory acceptance offer, his family covered their mouths in shock before jumping up and down while bursting into excited screams. Sister Liliana said Noel has worked hard to get to where he is, and, although there was struggles along the road, especially the passing of their father in 2018, it never discouraged him following his dreams – and if anything gave him more determination to keep pushing.
