MOUNTAIN VIEW PATCH -- Vargas was 12 years old when he emigrated with his family from the Philippines to the U.S. After graduating from Mountain View High School in 2000 and San Francisco State University in 2004, his career in journalism included stints at San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Philadelphia Daily News and Huffington Post.
Now 37 years old, Vargas is the founder and CEO of Define American, described as “the nation’s leading nonprofit media and culture organization that fights injustice and anti-immigrant hate through the power of storytelling.” His forthcoming memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, will be published by HarperCollins in fall 2018, according to Joseantoniovargas.com.
“I don’t really have words for how meaningful this honor is, I’ve been speechless for a few days,” Vargas told CNN. “I hope that this is a school where students and their families feel welcome in America, no matter where they come from.”