Manuel Figueroa was born and raised in Galena Park ISD, beginning his education at Cimarron Elementary and Normandy Crossing Elementary. He developed a love of reading at a young age, and once he caught the reading bug, he read a large number of books in the library at Normandy Crossing Elementary before moving on to middle school. He completed his education at North Shore Senior High School in GPISD and was a member of the Class of 2014.

Manuel was named a Duke University Talent Identification Program scholar for exceptional performance on the ACT, a college-readiness test, while he was in 7th grade. Throughout middle school, Manuel competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, advancing to the preliminary rounds, which were aired on PBS. Upon completing his 8th-grade year, Manuel represented Galena Park ISD at the NASA Space Center during the summer, speaking before Charlie Bolden, NASA Director, and numerous government officials. 

While at North Shore Senior High School, Manuel enrolled in a variety of Advanced Placement courses (13 total), as well as early dual credit courses at San Jacinto Community College in the 9th and 10th grades. He graduated 5th in his class of 1,064 as a National Hispanic Scholar (awarded to students who score in the top 1% of the PSATs in their respective state), and as a National AP Scholar with Distinction. Manuel went on to attend Dartmouth College, one of the eight Ivy League universities in the country, becoming the first student from Galena Park ISD to attend for academic reasons in several years. 

Manuel was awarded a full scholarship by his university, as well as the Jesse H. Jones scholarship- totaling well over a quarter of a million dollars. He was later named a recipient of an endowed scholarship by his university, the Trevor-Rees Jones Scholarship, which is awarded only to students the college deems to have had a notable impact on Dartmouth during their undergraduate career.

While in college, Manuel joined the Dartmouth College Fencing team and advanced to the USACFC National Championships in his first year in the sport. The Dartmouth College Fencing Club placed 4th in the nation this past year. 

Now a sophomore, Manuel has joined a startup company, Students of Strength, with fellow student Rahsann King, a rising star at Harvard University. The company focuses on educational technology that pairs students in grades 6-12 with top scholars at Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton, MIT, and other top-tier universities through a robust online platform and a mobile app available on all devices. Some key features include college mentoring, FaceTime homework sessions with tutors, and 24/7 subject tutoring. To date, 90,000 students from H.I.S.D, the entire state of New Mexico, and L.A.U.S.D have signed up to begin using the service in the fall of 2015. Parents and students interested should contact Manuel Figueroa at mfigueroa@studentsofstrength.com in either English or Spanish.  

We know we will hear many stellar reports about Manuel’s impact on our community and society in the future. GPISD is honored to call him “one of our own!”