SAN ANTONIO — A brotherhood began and got stronger inside the John Jay High School weight room. This bond has now led three seniors to get accepted into the United States Naval Academy.
Devan Guller, Caleb Garza, and Jackson Gutierrez said they are proud products of John Jay.
"This is where it all started, “Gutierrez said. "We have had some great celebrations in here. We have also had some great talks in here too, about overcoming adversity."
"We are a family here," Garza said. "We were molded in this very room right here."
The students said the space gave them real strength for the future.
"Family can be useless if you don't push each other,“ Guller said. "That's what we do. We are there for each other."
The trio are part of the John Jay Science and Engineering Academy. The 18-year-olds do it all, including several sports, like football, orchestra and even the Bible Club.
"Together we are like brothers here,“ said Garza. "We bleed for each other. We were very involved at John Jay because we love this place."
>Watch the full interview with the three seniors below
As their high school days near the end, their bond will soon continue. They will become leaders to serve the nation and will attend the United States Naval Academy.
"It wasn't really planned,“ Guller said. "It would be kind of cool if it was, it wasn't planned at all, it just kind of converged."
The prestigious and very selective United States Naval Academy only has an 11% acceptance rate.
"I don't think there has been a day that we don't really talk about it," Gutierrez said.
They do have military in their family. For Guller, it has always been his dream to attend the academy. They said it worked out for all of them to get accepted and the trio are now headed to Annapolis, Maryland.
"I know for me having these two there will be big deal for me," Gutierrez said.
These brothers will soon begin a new journey together.
"It is a little scary," Guller said. "A little daunting. We are leaving this place behind that we love so much. "It is a great opportunity, and it changes for the better."
The teens graduate on June 13, then they take off. They have induction on June 27. They would like to go into aviation, or engineering.