David Velasquez, a graduate of Harvard Medical School and the Business and Public Policy School, about his family history

When David Velasquez’s parents immigrated to the United States from Nicaragua, they were sent to a gas station in California. They spoke no English, had no family or friends, and could not afford clothes or diapers for their young children. Finding a job was a challenge as his mother and father have fifth-grade and third-grade education respectively. David’s father stood on a street corner to take a job as a day laborer to earn money for the family.

Despite his family’s precarious financial situation, David excelled in school from an early age. When he was only three years old, his kindergarten teacher said to his mother, “Do you know that you have a genius in your family? We have to use it at school. He is extraordinary, he will be someone important.” This year, David will become the first person in Harvard history to graduate from Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Medical School at the same time.

Teen Vogue spoke via Zoom with David and his parents, Calixto and Sara Velasquez, about their experiences immigrating to the United States and David’s extraordinary achievements.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Fashion for teenagers: Mr. and Mrs. Velasquez, when you came to the United States, what did you expect from yourself and David?

Calixto Velasquez: We came with an idea for success. We wanted to advance through hard work and effort. My wife’s first job was cleaning for only $2.25 an hour. The Catholic Church welcomed us. The women foraged for food and cooked, and the men stood on the corner and took random jobs that came along. We did everything to survive for our family. We wanted a good life for our four boys. We had the opportunity to work and we focused on getting them into school.

TELEVISION: As parents, did you focus more on David’s academic performance or on his character development?

Sara Velasquez: We focused on character traits. Discipline was very important to us. We told our sons to be punctual so that they could be even better, honest and responsible people. When they came home from school, yes, we wanted them to do their homework. We never wanted them to miss school. But we also wanted nice children.

We saw how nice David was when he was young. In the first or second grade, he knew that we didn’t have much to eat at home. He was given food at school. One day after school he took two chicken nuggets out of his sock and gave them to us because he knew we were hungry. From then on, we knew he wanted to do something for our family.

TELEVISION: David, what challenges have you faced in navigating your own educational experience?

David Velasquez: I grew up in the Los Angeles area and graduated from high school in Antelope Valley. We moved and changed schools every two years because Section 8 housing vouchers often ran out. There were a lot of fights and gangs in the schools I attended. I just focused on running, basketball and math.