Junior Alex Torres is the recent recipient of the Migrant Education Student of the Year award in the state of California, given in recognition of his educational achievements.

Born in Chiapas, Mexico, Torres moved to San Diego when he was seven-months-old and has stayed here for nearly his entire life. “The migrant program, they know my background and they know what I’ve been through and they were just proud of how far I’ve gone in life,” said Torres. “I’m in a program of migrant Latinos and we unite to talk about our things and how we can support each other,” Torres said.

According to their website, the Migrant Education Program supports around 11,500 students county-wide with a variety of services including tutoring, university tours, instructional services, career advice, and even bus passes.

Torres is one of the many benefactors of the Migrant program who is on a path for success. “Giving me this award is just a little push to show me that I could be someone bigger in life,” he said. “It demonstrates to me that I’ve accomplished this much and not to give up. If I give up, I could just lose it all and if I don’t give up, that means I could make people proud.”