Carlos Eduardo Tovias

PROFILE: Athens, Texas and Rio Bravo, Mexico, the two cities Carlos Tovias calls home are only about 400 miles apart. However, five years ago at age 14 when Carlos moved to Athens, speaking not a word of English and with very little in the way of material possessions, it must have seemed to him as if they were a million miles apart. In June 2010, on the front page of The Athens Daily Review is a picture that really does tell a thousand words. It’s a photo of Carlos, now 19, with a beaming smile being awarded a plaque for earning a perfect 4.0 GPA at Trinity Valley Community College. When Carlos was asked how he was able to do what some think is the impossible, he’s quick to say he struggled “at first,” but as his English language skills improved, so did his high school grades and he managed to graduate in the top ten percent of his class. From there it was on to the local community college where it really all came together for him – not just on campus, but in the community too where he could be found during free time volunteering at a local food pantry that provides meals to the homeless. 

INSPIRATION: His Phi Theta Kappa advisor, Nancy Long, influenced Carlos the most while enrolled at Trinity Valley. “She helped me find hidden talents because she thought I was capable of great things and expected nothing but the very best of me.” She reinforced what my mom has always taught me and saw in me.

ASPIRATION: Carlos wants to study engineering and tie it to the medical field. Simply stated, “I want to get a doctorate in biomedical engineering and help others and be successful in life.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE:   Carlos is very active with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and has “made a difference” through church-related activities, be it helping to organize volunteers to go to Galveston to clean up after Hurricane Ike, working at a food pantry, or Christmas Caroling at local nursing homes. Every day for Carlos is a chance to reach out and help someone. 

ACCOLADES: Carlos was awarded a Leaders of Promise Scholarship by International Phi Theta Kappa, and served as President of the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at his college. In additon, he was part of the Internship-Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program funded by the National Science Foundation.

INTERESTING FACT: Carlos almost didn’t become a Cooke Scholar. “I almost fell off the Grand Caynon because I wanted to take a cool picture.”