HARLINGEN — And it’s off to the Windy City.
After years of ardent study and impressive grades, Christopher Nowak, 17, has landed a spot at the University of Chicago.
“It was an amazing feeling when I clicked open the page and saw the congratulations in the letter bubble,” said Christopher, a senior at UTRGV Harlingen Collegiate High School, successor to Early College High School.
“My parents were excited,” he said. “It was a great day.”
His acceptance to the university is highlighted by the fact it’s a prestigious private research school with an acceptance rate of only 7 percent.
So what made him reach so high?
“For me it was just to expand my range because I just wanted to have the best options for me,” he said.
He appears more than up to the task.
“I’m planning on studying mathematics and possibly data science,” he said. “I want to do research. I want to kickstart my career from there.”
Nowak was born in Edinburg, but then his family moved to Indiana where his father found a job opportunity.
By the age of five, however, they’d moved back to the Valley, this time settling in Harlingen where he’s been ever since.
So how did Harlingen Collegiate prepare him for studies at such a prestigious institution?
“I guess it was the ability to take high level courses, the ability to take college courses and also coupled with ECHS courses as well,” he said. “My freshman and sophomore years I had really great math teachers. I had a really great precalculus teacher. It’s been a really helpful experience being at this school.”
Along with his rigorous academic schedule, he’s also managed to pursue athletics as a member of the HCISD Cross Country and Track Team. He was able to do this because the district allows students from the specialty high school to participate in extracurricular activities at the comprehensive schools. He did his athletics at Harlingen High School. And he’s enjoyed success at this activity as well as academics.
“This year’s cross country we went to regionals,” he said. “But the prior year our cross country team qualified for state, in my junior year. That was a big thing for us.”
