Tanner graduate finishes 2 years in 1

Published 6:30 am Saturday, May 26, 2018

Bill Gates once said, “If you’re born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor, it’s your mistake.” The billionaire philanthropist’s words often echoed in Tanner graduate Juan Salas’ mind as he plowed through his senior year, completing both the 11th and 12th grade at the same time.

Salas, the son of Mexican immigrants, joked he did it because he was trying to make up for the year he flunked kindergarten. He moved to the United States when he was 3 and was held back because he was still trying to learn English.

In reality, a more recent set of circumstances drove him to cram two years into one.

Just before the 2017-2018 school year started, his mother and siblings decided to move back to Mexico to find work, leaving him with no time to fool around. He needed to finish school so he could start earning a full-time wage.

“I knew I had a better chance of succeeding and building a life if I stayed here instead of going back to Mexico,” he said. “That wouldn’t suit me at all.”

No stranger to work, Salas moved in with his best friend’s family and worked weekends despite a grueling class schedule that often required him to do online coursework outside of regular school hours.

“I had a lot of sleepless nights during my senior year, I won’t lie. Sometimes it was really tough,” he said.

Salas started working for his uncle, who owns a construction company, when he was 13. At first, he did concrete and roofing work, but he has worked his way up and is now considered a master framer.

“I know how to build a house or mansion from the ground up now,” he said.

Even while working after school and on the weekends throughout his high school career, Salas still managed to graduate with a 3.2 GPA, enjoying time as a member of the football team, track team and Tanner’s first ever robotics team along the way.

Relying on his construction skills, Salas and his teammates built a robot with 12 wooden gear systems, something he said “no one at the competition had ever seen before.”

The Tanner team competed at their first ever robotics competition at the Tennessee Valley’s Best Robotics competition in Priceville last fall. They didn’t win, but Salas said it taught him how to be a better leader.

After Salas graduates, he plans to continue to working for his uncle for a year while he saves money for college.

Active in ROTC throughout high school, Salas plans to enlist in the army while attending Birmingham Southern College, where he wants to study business.

“I want to open my own framing business after I graduate,” he said. “My goal is that my family will never have to struggle again. I want to build my mother a really big brick house like she has always wanted.”

Although his mom and siblings weren’t able to make it to his graduation Friday, his uncle and dad were set to be there, cheering him on.