Bryan Diaz-Ximello, of Medford, wins Carey Gabay Scholarship
Bryan Diaz-Ximello, second from left, with his family. His father, Abel Diaz, is at left. His mother, Veronica Ximello, and brother Angel Diaz are at right. Credit: Joseph Sperber
After completing his associate degree while still in high school, Bryan Diaz-Ximello, 19, of Medford, will be pursuing his bachelor's degree under a full scholarship.
On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that Bryan and four other SUNY students were the 2023-24 winners of the Carey Gabay Scholarship Program. The scholarship honors Carey Gabay, an attorney and a former assistant counsel in the governor's office who was fatally shot in Brooklyn in 2015.
The scholarship is awarded to SUNY students "who exemplify Gabay's commitment to social justice, leadership, and mentoring," and Bryan was also recognized "for his personal story of academic success and overcoming his economically disadvantaged background," according to a statement from the governor's office.
“It honestly meant the world to me,” Diaz-Ximello said after being awarded the scholarship.
Introduced in 2015 by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the program has annually awarded five students full cost-of-attendance scholarships to attend a SUNY campus.
Going into his second year at SUNY Oswego, Bryan and his family have been uncertain how they were going to be able to afford college. At one point, his mother, Veronica Ximello, even considered that he should take a gap year in order to afford his tuition.
“We had no idea how we were going to pay for college until this point,” Diaz-Ximello said.
He had applied for the scholarship last December, and earlier this month he received a phone call from the scholarship committee saying he was a winner.
“ ... then I immediately ran to go tell my mother,” he said.
Diaz-Ximello is double majoring in technology and engineering education, and history, with a minor in sustainability studies.. But he didn't always flourish academically.
After attending Ridge Elementary School, Bryan started to struggle in math around the seventh grade. But it was around that time "when I kind of took control and realized that I had the ability to better myself and to improve,” he said.
He put in time after school studying with his teachers. He participated in enrichment programs, earned stipends that enabled him to purchase a computer and textbooks, and was invited to apply to an early college initiative to earn college credits.
At Longwood High School, he pursued early college programs throughout his sophomore-to-senior years. Sixty of the college credits he obtained came from Suffolk County Community College.
With the help of his parents, Diaz-Ximello was able to get a ride right after school in Longwood, straight to his college classes at SCCC.
His motivation was to become a teacher quicker, and also the financial aspect of college being more affordable as a high school student.
“It was pretty difficult managing and juggling everything,” Diaz-Ximello said. “Sometimes I would sacrifice a couple assignments in high school to do college assignments.”
In April 2022, Diaz-Ximello’s younger brother, Angel, was diagnosed with heart failure and required a heart transplant. His mother stayed with Angel while he was moved across children’s hospitals in New York City.
Diaz-Ximello credits the faculty at Longwood to help him get through that time.
“It was a difficult time but I had the guidance and the support of teachers that knew what I was going through,” Diaz-Ximello said. “They were able to say, ‘Well, this assignment is not as important, so focus on your family instead of this.’ ”
In May 2022, Angel was able to get a heart transplant and begin a long road to recovery.
Early in his high school career, Diaz-Ximello was introduced to technology and engineering education by one of his teachers. Bryan began to fall in love with that field and got in contact with SUNY Oswego, which teaches those programs. He was accepted there in May 2023.
By last August, Diaz-Ximello had graduated from high school with an associate degree in psychology and brought 102 credits to Oswego.
Ultimately, he hopes to pursue a career in teaching technology and engineering.
“He's very passionate about education, and in particular the CTE [Career and Technical Education] programs that's offered by New York State as well as Longwood,” Longwood High School Principal Sam Ahmed said.
After that phone call earlier this month, and hearing that her son had won the scholarship, Veronica Ximello couldn't contain her excitement.
“We are beyond grateful and honored that he was chosen for this scholarship," she said. “It means the world to us in the family, but I know mainly to him because he gets to fulfill his dreams."
After completing his associate degree while still in high school, Bryan Diaz-Ximello, 19, of Medford, will be pursuing his bachelor's degree under a full scholarship.
On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that Bryan and four other SUNY students were the 2023-24 winners of the Carey Gabay Scholarship Program. The scholarship honors Carey Gabay, an attorney and a former assistant counsel in the governor's office who was fatally shot in Brooklyn in 2015.
The scholarship is awarded to SUNY students "who exemplify Gabay's commitment to social justice, leadership, and mentoring," and Bryan was also recognized "for his personal story of academic success and overcoming his economically disadvantaged background," according to a statement from the governor's office.
“It honestly meant the world to me,” Diaz-Ximello said after being awarded the scholarship.
Introduced in 2015 by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the program has annually awarded five students full cost-of-attendance scholarships to attend a SUNY campus.
Going into his second year at SUNY Oswego, Bryan and his family have been uncertain how they were going to be able to afford college. At one point, his mother, Veronica Ximello, even considered that he should take a gap year in order to afford his tuition.
“We had no idea how we were going to pay for college until this point,” Diaz-Ximello said.
He had applied for the scholarship last December, and earlier this month he received a phone call from the scholarship committee saying he was a winner.
“ ... then I immediately ran to go tell my mother,” he said.
Diaz-Ximello is double majoring in technology and engineering education, and history, with a minor in sustainability studies.. But he didn't always flourish academically.
After attending Ridge Elementary School, Bryan started to struggle in math around the seventh grade. But it was around that time "when I kind of took control and realized that I had the ability to better myself and to improve,” he said.
He put in time after school studying with his teachers. He participated in enrichment programs, earned stipends that enabled him to purchase a computer and textbooks, and was invited to apply to an early college initiative to earn college credits.
At Longwood High School, he pursued early college programs throughout his sophomore-to-senior years. Sixty of the college credits he obtained came from Suffolk County Community College.
With the help of his parents, Diaz-Ximello was able to get a ride right after school in Longwood, straight to his college classes at SCCC.
His motivation was to become a teacher quicker, and also the financial aspect of college being more affordable as a high school student.
“It was pretty difficult managing and juggling everything,” Diaz-Ximello said. “Sometimes I would sacrifice a couple assignments in high school to do college assignments.”
In April 2022, Diaz-Ximello’s younger brother, Angel, was diagnosed with heart failure and required a heart transplant. His mother stayed with Angel while he was moved across children’s hospitals in New York City.
Diaz-Ximello credits the faculty at Longwood to help him get through that time.
“It was a difficult time but I had the guidance and the support of teachers that knew what I was going through,” Diaz-Ximello said. “They were able to say, ‘Well, this assignment is not as important, so focus on your family instead of this.’ ”
In May 2022, Angel was able to get a heart transplant and begin a long road to recovery.
Early in his high school career, Diaz-Ximello was introduced to technology and engineering education by one of his teachers. Bryan began to fall in love with that field and got in contact with SUNY Oswego, which teaches those programs. He was accepted there in May 2023.
By last August, Diaz-Ximello had graduated from high school with an associate degree in psychology and brought 102 credits to Oswego.
Ultimately, he hopes to pursue a career in teaching technology and engineering.
“He's very passionate about education, and in particular the CTE [Career and Technical Education] programs that's offered by New York State as well as Longwood,” Longwood High School Principal Sam Ahmed said.
After that phone call earlier this month, and hearing that her son had won the scholarship, Veronica Ximello couldn't contain her excitement.
“We are beyond grateful and honored that he was chosen for this scholarship," she said. “It means the world to us in the family, but I know mainly to him because he gets to fulfill his dreams."