Azusa High School graduate accepted to 21 colleges, including several in Ivy League

AZUSA, Calif. (KABC) -- An Azusa High School graduate has plenty of reasons to celebrate but there is one accomplishment he's proud to share with the world: he's been accepted to 21 colleges across the country.

"I was very, like, nervous on if I was going to even end up at a school that I applied to," said Hector Hernandez, who walked the stage in his cap and gown at Tuesday's graduation.

The teen was accepted into Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, CSU Long Beach, CSU Fullerton, Azusa Pacific University, University of La Verne, Cal Baptist University, Amherst College, Washington University in St. Louis, Middlebury College, Vanderbilt University, and Grand Canyon University.

His heart, however, was set on Yale, so he applied early.

"I just want to be able to experience a new environment, be away from like my comfort zone and kind of just grow as a person," said Hernandez. "I couldn't sleep the night before that whole morning. I was in my classes constantly checking my phone."

As he prepares for his journey at the Ivy League school, Hernandez is quick to note that as a first generation Salvadoran immigrant and low-income student, this moment was always a distant dream.

Now, it's reality.

"I ended up crying," he said. "I was with my friends so it was just really nice to have a support system behind me and then just kind of like expressing my emotions that all that I have done in high school did pay off."

Graduation isn't the end of learning for many Azusa High School students, and school administrators are confident Hernandez and other graduates will be bringing the school and the community with them, wherever they end up.

"Azusa is a special place and the community really rallies around our schools and our students," said Azusa Unified School District Superintendent Arturo Ortega.

Hernandez plans to major in molecular biology. While he's soaking in his final days in Azusa, the overachiever is also looking ahead to the next chapter.

"I think just now achieving it kind of like allows me to take a step back and being like, 'Wow, I really did accomplish that.'"