After a year-long process of working hard and never giving up, AVID senior standout Justin Arias Chamu received the news that he won the AVID Founders Scholarship. He applied for the scholarship his junior year and received $20,000 dollars. Arias was confident in his interview and felt like he was really connecting with the founder of AVID.
Arias has been in AVID for six years and is the current AVID Co-President with seniors Aaron Lopez and Karla Soriano. Arias also applied for another scholarship called the Lamp of Learning scholarship finalist, receiving $2,000 from that.
Arias is surrounded by supportive people such as his AVID teachers who were able to encourage him enough to apply for the scholarship. “I probably would’ve never applied to any of the scholarships I did without them,” Arias said.
Arias, one of seven children and a first-generation college student, will attend UCSD, majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Arias is academically strong, especially in Math and Science. He said he has always wanted to do something hands-on that he would enjoy instead of being at a desk all day.
Arias’s senior AVID teacher Karen Kawasaki really enjoys having Arias Chamu as a student. “He’s a good listener. He is someone who is very intuitive, so he will see a situation, and he’ll know when he needs to step up and take on a leadership role,” Kawasaki said.
Arias is extremely passionate about AVID and his education and enjoys helping others reach their goals. He and some other AVID students put together little study groups to help each other succeed.
“He’s pretty responsible and has a strong work ethic which sets a good example for others. In AVID he’s always willing to help his peers,” AVID Co-president Soriano said.