Activist Jose Antonio Vargas Has School Named In His Honor

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — A new elementary school under construction in Mountain View will be named after Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, a graduate of Mountain View Whisman School District who shocked the nation years ago when he announced he's undocumented. The school board voted Thursday in favor of Vargas as the school's namesake.

In determining what to name the new school, the district sought community input and came up with a list that in addition to Vargas included: former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, longtime MVWSD board trustee Gail Urban Moore and Grace Hopper, a pioneer computer compiler in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

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 non-profit 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."

"I think every undocumented immigrant in this country wherever you are ... from the big regions to the small towns, we're defined by our communities. I grew up in that community. This feels so special," he said.

Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School is under construction on N. Whisman Road and is tentatively scheduled for completion in August 2019, according to the district website.

Photo: Janet Yang, left and Jose Antonio Vargas attend the 46th NAACP Image Awards Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo Credit: Rob Latour / Invision/ AP/ REX/ Shutterstock)