Chris Diaz is a kid with a focus — an intense focus.
He treats his education in Derby public schools like it’s his full-time job.
He wants to be an anesthesiologist — a career path he got serious about three or four years ago, by his estimate. He’s only 17.
Diaz isn’t just a big talker. There are actions behind his words.
Case in point — he is the 2015 valedictorian at Derby High School, and he plans to attend Cornell University next year to study medicine.
Derby educators are proud to have him as a student, according to Derby High School Principal Martin Pascale.
“Chris clearly is a driven student, he exemplifies the ABCs of DHS (Derby High School), academics, behavior and citizenship to the fullest,” Pascale said.
His family isn’t awash in money. His parents came from Chile about 19 years ago.
What motivates him?
His mom, Carolina, cleans houses. His dad, Rodrigo, is a jack of all trades.
“I saw the struggle they went through in a new country, finding jobs and then having to change jobs,” Diaz said.
Seeing his parents break their backs to provide for him and his 7‑year-old sister, Camilla, just reinforced his belief in education as the key to a bright future.
Diaz is a teenager, but he talks like a person who already knows how fast the years fly by.
“I’ve tried to make the best of my high school education because I want to succeed and I want it to pay off,” he said.
It helps that Diaz is also a natural student. He simply likes to learn. His parents noticed when he started school.
“My parents told me that when I would come home from school, right away I would do my homework, before I even ate,” he said.
An aunt and uncle — Felipe and Christina Aguilar — helped to nurture his desire to learn.
“They’ve done things to always keep me motivated, taking me to museums, things like that, to keep me intellectually involved,” he said.
When asked about his favorite teacher at Derby High School, Diaz looked slightly worried.
“Do you mean just this year?” he asked.
Five minutes later Diaz had rattled off six Derby High School teachers, along with a complimentary description of each educator’s teaching style.
For the record, the teachers were: Cristina Kingsberry, Tom Lesczcynski, Palma Salcito, Giana Harrington, Steve Wojtowicz and Albert White.
And yes, his answer was limited to teachers from this year only.
“Every day I learn something new, something I didn’t know before. I like getting more knowledge. Knowledge is power,” he said.
Diaz said Derby High School is a perfect learning environment.
“I love this school. Everyone is close here. The students all know each other, all the teachers know all the students,” he said.
He described an advance placement calculus class with just four students. It was almost like an independent study.
He enjoys small classes because he can go one-on-one with the teachers.
“The teacher will know if you are getting it or not, and he or she will take the time to actually give you the education you need. They don’t stop until you get the material,” he said.
Diaz speaks three languages (Spanish, English, Italian), interns at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and has a list of academic awards and extracurricular activities that is almost two pages long, single-spaced.
Oh, and he works some 20 hours a week waiting and busing tables at 500 Degrees on Main Street.
“I’ll stay up to 3 a.m. to finish my homework,” he says like a kid who has never missed an assignment.
Diaz was born in Stamford and lived a few years in Shelton before moving into a duplex in Derby. A set of grandparents live next door.
Getting into Cornell was a family experience.
He received guidance from the Chang-Scanlon family of Greenwich. They talked to him about the application process, which can be overwhelming.
“My mom cleans their house and they took an interest in me,” Diaz said.
Cornell was his top choice. He actually hasn’t stepped foot on campus yet. That will happen later this month. But he researched it and fell in love with the institution from a distance.
He has until May 1 to officially commit.
“I’m definitely going there,” he said.
Diaz counts his whole family as his biggest influence — parents, grandparents (Ricardo and Soledad on his mom’s side, Moises and Irene on his dad’s side), aunts and uncles.
His grandfather Ricardo has repeatedly passed along advice — don’t forget where you come from.
They traveled to Chile in February, when Diaz got to see his grandfather’s words in action.
Diaz went to a town, San Vicente, where his grandfather spent his summers. Diaz’ great-grandmother worked summers there providing medical care.
During the visit, his grandfather knocked on doors he hadn’t visited in generations. Yet the people living there not only remembered his grandfather — they offered the pair a place to stay.
Diaz said that “don’t forget where you come from,” as demonstrated by his grandfather, means to stay humble, to be nice to people, to know that what you learn as a kid will help you as an adult.
Diaz is from Derby. He won’t forget it.
“Derby is who I am. I’m part of the Derby community, the Big Red,” he said.
He knows the city gets a bad rap in Connecticut.
“People often look down at Derby, call it Dirty Derby, whatever. It makes me mad,” he said. “But people are flourishing here. You just have to look for it and find it. Don’t just do the bare minimum. Always go above and beyond. That’s what I’ve learned from my grandfather.”
