Mission, TX (KRGV) — A 19-year-old Sharyland High School graduate is getting national recognition as a U.S. Presidential Scholar.

Emilio De La Garza-Garza graduated summa cum laude in June and now holds the title. He is only the third student from the Rio Grande Valley to be selected.

"I'm so proud to be someone from the Valley who could get this award and potentially inspire other people," De La Garza-Garza said.

Just 161 high school graduates earn the honor each year. De La Garza-Garza said his passion for science started in the classroom of Sharyland High School science teacher Angie Lynn Culberson-Espinoza.

Each U.S. Presidential Scholar can recognize a teacher who had the biggest influence on them, and he chose Culberson-Espinoza. She said she did not know who nominated her when she got a letter from the Department of Education.

"I read it, and my heart was just full," Culberson-Espinoza said.

Culberson-Espinoza says the bigger honor was teaching Emilio. 

"As the educator… I also get inspired by him," Culberson-Espinoza said.

De La Garza-Garza said he's hoping he can live up to the merit he's received and inspire others back home.

"Hopefully in the future, other people can look up to me, ask me for advice, and potentially aim higher as a result of this," De La Garza-Garza said.

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