By Patric Hedlund

It was a busy spring for Steven Paniagua. He was being flown around the eastern seaboard of the United States by an array of ivy league universities—the top schools in the nation—at the same time that he was trying to finish up his exams back in California.

The feeding frenzy of elite schools competing to lure this young man from Frazier Park to work for his doctorate at their schools is a delightful tale that may encourage others to follow their dreams.

First, let’s be clear.

Paniagua is not a football star. He is a molecular biologist. But this soft-spoken young man is…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

Steven Paniagua says he “wasn’t a great student,” because his first love was playing soccer in high school. His former soccer coach, Joe Flores, congratulates the FMHS graduate as he prepares to leave for Yale.

Top: Steven Paniagua grew up in Frazier Park and attended local schools, playing AYSO soccer. Middle: He graduated from FMHS, a member of the soccer team with a 3.4 GPA.

Above: He took his B.S. from U.C. Santa Cruz with honors and is headed for a Ph.D. at Yale.

Right: At University of California, Santa Cruz the Frazier Mountain High School grad was attracted to research in genetics and human diseases. He also began tutoring other students. He says he was surprised when ‘a career path’ emerged that combines these two passions.

Below: Home for the summer before taking off for Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Paniagua was flown to a half dozen ivy league colleges this spring, all competing to give him scholarships for his doctoral work in molecular cell biology and genetics.

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This is part of the July 10, 2015 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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