KYLE, Texas — Lehman High School senior and valedictorian Yoshi Nakachi is a bit lighter on his feet these days. A full scholarship to Stanford will do that for a 17-year-old.

"It was crazy,” Nakachi said. "Seeing those words, I was accepted to Stanford, I couldn't believe it."

The journey was anything but an easy one. Nakachi bested thousands of his peers to win the QuestBridge scholarship, which pairs students in the top five to 10% of their class from low-income backgrounds with prestigious universities across the country.

"It's hard to see your situation and know you can do it, but just by going for it, you have nothing to lose,” Nakachi said. 

Lehman High School college and career counselor Mariza Rebmann was part of his two-year application process. In total, the requirements included prep programs, financial aid forms and mountains of essays. She says his dedication and success have pushed other students from similar tough situations to reach higher as well.

"Getting a big scholarship is maybe opening doors for kids that were previously on the fence,” Rebmann said.

Nakachi will head to Palo Alto next fall, where the future Cardinal will study computer science and dreams of one day being a software developer.

"Making it to the Ivy Leagues was a dream for my family, getting to one of those recognizable schools,” Nakachi said. 

A dream which began right here in Central Texas. He encourages future students to also dream big.

"The payout was amazing and just to go for any opportunity, never let things go and ask for help,” Nakachi said.