Jefferson High grad immigrated, overcame homelessness

CEDAR RAPIDS — Julio Chavez learned from his job as a server at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant that he wants to become a nurse anesthetist.

“I love making people smile and feel loved and cared for. I think it stemmed from being a server, when I found I like making people happy,” said Chavez, 19.

Chavez is one of 280 students who graduated Saturday from Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids. His path toward earning his diploma, however, wasn’t easy or even straightforward.

He immigrated to the United States from El Salvador about a decade ago with his then-16-year-old brother. They traveled by almost every means imaginable — other than by plane.

“We left El Salvador to look for a better life. At the time, it wasn’t the safest place. There are a lot more opportunities here in the United States,” he said.

“I was very young. It’s a little hard to remember,” Chavez said. What he does remember is he got his clothes stolen in Guatemala. The food in Mexico was very spicy. He recalls the kindness of strangers who gave him and his brother food and shelter along the way.

Once Chavez and his brother reached the United States, they surrendered themselves to the U.S. immigration system, he said. They ended up at His House International in Miami, which cares for unaccompanied children who left their home country because of hardships such as gang violence, homelessness, economic adversity or abuse.

Eventually, their mother — already living in the United States — found her sons, and they flew to the Midwest to begin their lives together.

The family opened a restaurant in 2021 in Cedar Rapids called Rosy’s Salvadoran & Mexican restaurant. The restaurant, which served savory pupusas filled with beans, cheese and meats, closed less than a year later.

“It didn’t go right,” Chavez said.

The then-16-year-old found himself adrift from his family and essentially experiencing homelessness. He found strangers who were looking for roommates, and he lived with his brother for a while in Cedar Rapids.

During that time, he attended at least three high schools — Iowa City High, Marion High and Washington High before landing at Jefferson his junior year.

“I have been to so many schools, and the teachers here are really incredible,” said Chavez, speaking of Jefferson High School.

One teacher who stands out to him is John O’Connor, who teaches biology at Jefferson.

“He was a huge inspiration,” Chavez said. “I failed his class and came back the next semester, and he was really good at teaching and making sure I understood it. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have chosen nursing for my career path nor would I have been in high school anymore. I wanted to stay because of him.”

In August 2023, Chavez moved into his own apartment near Kirkwood Community College, which he will attend this fall to study nursing.

It’s not the experience of a typical high school student — living on his own during senior year — and Chavez is proud of what he’s accomplished. And he works hard to maintain it — about 40 hours a week at Texas Roadhouse on top of full-time school.

“I’ve hit every goal I have strived toward, including graduating,” Chavez said.

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