KPIX-CHANNEL 5 (SAN FRANCISCO) -- Vargas grew up in Mountain View, attending Crittenden Middle School and Mountain View High School and secured a private scholarship to attend San Francisco State University. Vargas went on to become a reporter for the Washington Post, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for team coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting.
In 2011, he revealed that he was an undocumented immigrant. Vargas’ family sent him from the Philippines to the United States as a child, to be raised by his grandparents. The 38-year-old has since become an outspoken activist for immigration reform.
“I wouldn’t be the human being that I am without my community. I define American as community. The community of people who see you and make you feel whole,” said Vargas.