Knowledge can be contagious when you’re with the right kind of people.

That is William Hernandez-Sampayo’s philosophy, and it got him into his dream school — Harvard. 

Hernandez-Sampayo, a senior at Mexico High School, will be attending Harvard in the fall to study biology on the premed track in pursuit of a career in internal medicine. According to David Maupin, MHS and Harvard alumnus, he is the fourth student in MHS history to go to Harvard. 

“I am so proud of William and excited for him,” Dr. Troy Lentz, Mexico School District superintendent, said in an email to The Ledger. “He is a truly talented individual, and he is a great representative of our school and community.”

Hernandez-Sampayo said he chose Harvard because of the intellectually diverse community there, and the intimidating 4.18% acceptance rate didn’t dissuade him from applying.

“I just wanted to take a hit at my dream school,” he said. “I felt like there really wasn’t any harm if I did get rejected, and there were more benefits if I did get accepted.”

Hernandez-Sampayo said his “end goal” is to have a career where he does good for other people so he can attain financial freedom and fulfill his philanthropic desires.

“I generally just want to give back to my family, friends, community and schools,” he added. “I want to feel like if I want to give someone something, I can without it holding me back.”  

Sight set on Harvard

Before applying, Hernandez-Sampayo prepared for months. He started by signing up for Matriculate, a program that connects low-income juniors and seniors with undergraduate advisors. Hernandez-Sampayo met monthly with his advisor, who helped him navigate building his college resume and preparing for his personal essay. 

“It basically took me a really long time to write that personal essay,” he said. “I went into it with the mindset that I’m going to make as many drafts as I can until I feel satisfied — and I sort of lost count after the fifth one.

For his essay about a life lesson that he learned, Hernandez-Sampayo called on his experience at Missouri Scholars Academy. During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, he spent a month at the University of Missouri — sleeping in the dorms, going to class and eating in the dining hall for a full-blown college experience. There, he majored in philosophy. That, and ethics, were focal points of his essay. 

While his personal essay was the hardest part of the application process, the interview was a close second. 

“I felt like I did well, but I feel like I didn't say enough to make me feel confident or to feel any sense of, ‘Oh, I'm going to be accepted.’”

In the end, it all worked out, and Hernandez-Sampayo’s parents, Francisco Hernandez and Reyna Vergara, were there to celebrate with him when he got his acceptance letter.

“My parents didn’t have the money to continue their secondary education, so they were never able to go to college,” he said. “It feels like I'm taking a big step in the positive direction for my family, and I hope this can change our financial situation as a whole in the future.”

Even though he has excelled academically, Hernandez-Sampayo said he thinks it was his position as a first-generation student that made his application stand out. 

“My parents are immigrants,” he said. “My mom is from Mexico and my dad is from Guatemala. They both came to the United States in search of a better life, and I feel like they saw the story and the potential.”

Plus, he has the transcript to back it up. Hernandez-Sampayo has been a straight-A student since middle school. In the beginning, school came easy, but after increasing his workload in high school, Hernandez-Sampayo had to stay organized, so he created a study schedule for himself.

In his senior year at MHS, Hernandez-Sampayo is taking Advanced Placement Calculus, dual-credit Composition I and II, dual-credit Anatomy and Physiology, Sports Medicine and French 4. He also takes a medical terminology class at Hart Career Center.

Hernandez-Sampayo’s secret to staying motivated while studying is making a list that he can see. Whether that means using a cellphone calendar or color-coded folders, he said it helps to visualize the work that still needs to be done and what he has completed so far.

But even a Harvard-bound student can be guilty of procrastination. 

“If I notice I’m struggling with a concept, I focus most of my time on figuring it out and studying it, but more often than not, I start studying last minute,” Hernandez-Sampayo said.

Anything is possible

Looking back on his high school career, Hernandez-Sampayo said he is satisfied with his accomplishments, but wishes MHS offered more college courses — a realization that came to him during a Missouri Scholars reunion last summer. 

“They all kept talking about AP Psychology, AP this, AP that, and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, your entire course schedule is just AP and I’ve only taken two AP classes,’” he said.

For some, getting into Harvard can feel impossible, but Hernandez-Sampayo disagrees. 

“I feel like anything is possible,” he said. “You don't have to get perfect scores. They’re not really looking for perfection — they're looking for a certain type of person, or at least a unique one at that.”

Even with all his advanced courses, Hernandez-Sampayo has another big lesson to learn before his first semester of classes begins — how to thrive so far from home without his friends and family.

“They can’t always be with me wherever I go, so I'm going to have to learn how to cope with that.”