For David G., a W.H. Adamson High School senior, progress is not about where he started. But how hard he is willing to work.
“I started playing soccer extremely late,” he said. “I had never really touched a ball before then. I had to make up that ground and I just put my head down and started to work.”
Most athletes spend years preparing before stepping onto a varsity field, but David didn’t pick up a soccer ball until his junior year. Instead of backing down, he leaned in; proving to himself that growth comes from effort, not timing.
He didn’t just keep up — he excelled. The same mindset that pushed him onto the varsity soccer team pushed him to the top of his class, earning him the title of valedictorian and onto Dartmouth College with a full ride.
“When I first came into Adamson I was really shy,” David said. “I didn’t think I would be capable of doing anything that I do now.”
As he pushed himself academically, David began to see his potential. In Adamson’s P-TECH program, he explored computer science, building skills and discovering a passion that would guide his future.
But now, his motivation goes deeper than grades.
“My dad almost died from a heart attack,” David said. “The only reason he’s still with me now was because he asked ChatGPT what his symptoms meant and it told him he was having a heart attack.”
That moment put things into perspective. It gave purpose to what he was learning and an idea he thinks could help save lives.
“I like to shoot big… My ultimate goal is to create a medical AI that could help people diagnose themselves,” he said.
Even with that vision, the idea of leaving his family once felt out of reach.
“When I first came into the Academic Success Program I was adamant about staying here in Dallas,” he said. “I wasn’t aware of my own potential. I was scared to take that leap and apply somewhere as prestigious as Dartmouth, but Ms. Flores, my ASP advisor, told me I could do it… She definitely pushed me.”
Now, he’s preparing for his next chapter at Dartmouth College, where he plans to study computer science modified with economics, on a full-ride scholarship.
As he prepares to move out of Texas for the first time, David carries both nerves and excitement for the challenges ahead. But as he graduates, he’s not just focused on the future he’s building, but how he can inspire others.
“I hope they remember me as a person who was really driven and would motivate others,” he said. “What Ms. Flores did for me, I want to do for other kids in the Oak Cliff area. There’s a lot of people who think that they can’t shoot for the stars, but they can.”
David G. is proof that shooting for the stars pays off. Not because the path is easy—but because he chose to believe what others believed about him.
