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College Showcase: South’s John Anthony Fraga

HHSS_Valedictorian

What is your career goal?
After college I want to go to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist/surgeon and hopefully work for M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

What teacher or teachers have influenced you the most during your time in high school?
I would have to say that the teachers who influenced me the most are Mrs. Vaughn, Mr. Gillitzer, Mr. Conway, and Mr. Almanza. They guided me in my journey through high school and helped me with my essays, my SAT and SAT test, with my resume, and helping me develop a good application for the schools that I applied to. They also taught me life lessons to persevere through life’s obstacles.

Describe a school experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Through FBLA during my sophomore year, I got to travel out of the state for the first time. I got to go to California and from there I got a wake up call, the bigger picture of how it’s not just us in the Rio Grande Valley, there’s a bigger world out there. There’s a lot of diversity and a lot of opportunities that await for people that can go out and come back to the Valley and share their experiences with others.

What types of community service have you participated in? What did you learn from that experience? How has it benefited you as a person and/or shaped your future.
I’m involved in the National Technical Honor Society and also through FBLA I’ve helped set up food drives for the Ronald McDonald House and the Shelter for Battered Women. Also, this past summer I volunteered as a camp counselor for M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. It’s a week-long cancer patient camp. I got to help the kids do different activities and a lot of these kids have not been outside in a while, since they’ve been in the hospital for so long. Through experiences like that I’ve been able to find out more of what I want to do and what I want to pursue. Through helping the community and through the cancer camp I was able to see what I wanted to do. This confirmed that I wanted to go into the medical field to help others. The euphoria that I get from making someone’s day a little better is without parallel.

What is your motivation?
I’ve always tried to be that high achieving student. In high school when they first started talking to us about colleges and the possible routes after high school that I got more serious about my academic studies. It really pushed me to pursue acceptance into an Ivy League school. Over the years my passion has grown. My driving force is God, my brother, and my family. They’ve helped me through a bunch of obstacles that I had in high school. I battled cancer during my freshman year, and my mother had breast cancer this year. Just being very well supported at home has helped me get where I am now. Everything I do, I do it in honor of God and my family.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years, hopefully I’ve graduated from medical school. I’d like to get a job in New York City as a doctor and then eventually come back to Houston to work at M.D. Anderson.

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