Faith, curiosity, persistence lead Christopher Pedro to Yale

“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”

Those words, featured prominently in the campaigns of former President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador, made an indelible mark on Christopher Pedro.

English translation: “For the good of all, the poor first.”

Christopher and his father, Ted Pedro, stood with more than 100,000 people to hear AMLO (how the former president is often referred) address the crowd in Zocalo Square to celebrate the eve of Mexico’s Independence Day.

The Pedros had arrived early, hoping to claim a prime vantage point to hear AMLO’s speech that night. With each passing hour, more people filled the square and more storm clouds gathered overhead.

As the rain began, Christopher and his father stayed in the square, eventually getting soaked by the downpour. Ted tried to convince his son that they should leave, return to the dry of their hotel room.

Christopher refused to budge. They had traveled from Morganton to Mexico City, and he was determined to stay until the end.

“It was in that moment,” Ted said with tears welling in his eyes, “that I truly understood his determination.”

Ted recounted the story when he and his wife (and Christopher’s mom), Guadalupe, recently stopped by The Paper offices.

I first met Teofilo (Ted is his Americanized name) when I interviewed him in January 2023 for an article that would appear in The Paper’s second issue. As a parent educator at Mountain View Elementary School, he helps parents whose native language isn’t English navigate educational and other systems.

His empathy is rooted in lived experience. A native of Guatemala, Ted came to the U.S. with his father and younger brother when he was 7 years old.

About two weeks after that article was published, I met Christopher for the first time. The Paper’s publisher Allen VanNoppen, editor emeritus Bill Poteat, and I attended a Sunday meeting of the Burke Youth Organized Philanthropists. Our goal was to build enthusiasm for The Paper’s mission among the teens and to ask for their help in representing the voice of youth in our pages.

Only a handful of the dozen or so young people spoke up and offered feedback. Christopher was one of them.

I wasn’t surprised when he called the next week, detailing his interest in writing for The Paper. Then a sophomore at Freedom High, he began writing about the school’s teachers, students, classes, and clubs as well as occasional columns about groups he was involved in outside of school.

With each column, Christopher blossomed and found his voice. Every member of our newsroom became increasingly impressed by his community involvement, his work ethic, his devotion to his faith, and his love for his family — all things that paved the way for his acceptance at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics-Morganton for his junior and senior years.

Those qualities also undoubtedly impressed the members of the admissions committee at Yale University. The private Ivy League research university will be Christopher’s educational home beginning this fall.

“For me, it is hard,” Guadalupe told me when thinking about the 730 miles that will soon separate her from her son. “But I know it is meant to be.”

She admitted that, as his mother, a part of her wanted him to attend a school in the Tarheel State. Or if he did go outside North Carolina, he would attend the University of Notre Dame — a nod to their deep Catholic faith. She’s not the only Notre Dame fan. The Notre Dame logo is on the lanyard holding Ted’s school badge.

Christopher chose Yale because it felt right, a metric that surprised himself and his parents.

“When (other students) would tell him that he would ‘just know’ which school to attend, he said he would listen to facts (not feelings),” Guadalupe said. Yet after visiting the Yale campus, he understood what others were trying to tell him. Yale felt right.

Attending a prestigious university might seem unlikely for a boy who cried when he went to preschool, or a child born in the U.S. to immigrants. Like Ted, Guadalupe is also from Guatemala.

None of those factors defines him.

“We have always taught him to put God before everything,” Ted said.

The Pedros have also taught Christopher and older sister Jasmine the importance of hard work, education, and family. Summer vacations always involved an intentional educational element and also often included trips back to see extended family in Guatemala.

“One of our main goals as parents is for him to know where his family is from, to know his roots,” Ted explained.

Christopher found his maternal great-grandfather inspirational. He began as a poor man selling peaches in Guatemala and rose to owning his own company. He even ran (unsuccessfully) for the equivalent of mayor in his Guatemalan village.

Wanting their son to experience the Guatemalan educational system, they enrolled Christopher in school there for fifth grade. He insisted on returning to Forest Hill Elementary to finish the year so he could graduate from elementary school with his peers.

As of Thursday, May 22, Christopher is now a graduate of NCSSM-Morganton.

“He is persistent and consistent,” his mom told me.

Christopher, I look forward to writing about your Yale graduation in four years.