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Gabriel Ortiz always knew he wanted to attend Harvard University.
The 18-year-old San Marcos High School student said he made it his goal to go Harvard in sixth grade. Ortiz applied for an early decision at the beginning of his senior year and tensely awaited the Ivy League school to make its decision.
In mid-December, Ortiz heard back from his dream school. He was offered admission to Harvard.
“It got so tense, leading up to the moment, but then just getting accepted was such a relief," Ortiz said. "It's hard to put words to it. I saw my dad cry, which was crazy.”
Not only is Ortiz a strong student but he’s also a gifted musician. Ortiz is a trumpeter and singer for the San Marcos High School mariachi band. He’s been named to the Texas Music Educators Association All-State Band as a trumpeter all four years of his high school career. He was also selected as one of 119 young musicians from across the nation to the National Youth Orchestra of the United States in 2019 and said he was accepted again for its summer 2020 program.
Ortiz was first introduced to playing an instrument in second grade when he began learning piano. He started playing trumpet in sixth grade and fell in love with music.
“Trumpet is great because it's really versatile,” Ortiz said. “It's in all the ensembles: mariachi, band, orchestra, jazz — you name it — salsa. And it's also like one of the feature instruments. It's just a lot of fun and it can be honorable like in a 'Taps and the national anthem.”
Ortiz has enjoyed his time in the mariachi band, calling it one of the best ways to embrace his Hispanic culture.
“Playing mariachi is probably my favorite way to embrace my Hispanic culture and especially at San Marcos High School,” Ortiz said. “(The mariachi ensemble) it's just such a cool group and getting to sing and like the real heart of the Mexican culture and other Hispanic cultures.”
Juan Carlos Cavazos, mariachi director and classical guitar director at San Marcos High School, is impressed with Ortiz’s work ethic.
“He's one of those kids that is never just sitting around,” Cavazos said. “It's not in his nature to do that as well. He's always working toward something. He's intelligent. He decided when he was in sixth grade, ‘I want to go to Harvard,’ and just laid out his own plan and just started working towards it and achieved it. It's been the same thing every time I've seen him do anything, he does it to the best of his ability.”
As his senior year winds down, Ortiz knows he wants to keep playing trumpet in college.
“Harvard has a really good orchestra — Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra — so I definitely plan on playing in that and you get class credit for that because it counts as a class,” Ortiz said. “They also have a mariachi group there, which is a student led one, which is closer to like the professional field of mariachis, and it's supposedly really fun. One of their highlight groups.”
After watching him play in the mariachi program, Cavazos is glad Ortiz wants to continue playing his instrument.
“I'm all about it,” Cavazos said. “I firmly believe that all kids should be lifelong music learners, even if they graduate from high school band, choir, orchestra, mariachi, they should still continue to create music for therapy, for cathartic reasons just to express themselves and to not let go of that skill they really worked toward.”
Ortiz isn’t sure what he wants to study at Harvard but is interested in biology or the medical field. He’s looking forward to the new experience.
“Harvard is really nice, they encouraged me to explore for the first two years and then at the end of my second year, I have to declare (a major),” Ortiz said. “But I definitely am looking forward to finding something that I really care about and that I’ll. be happy devoting a good chunk of my life to.”
