FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A Central East High School senior is getting overwhelming support from his family and “new cousins” online after going viral for being accepted into more than a dozen universities, including four Ivy League schools. 17-year-old Samuel Ruiz-Macias says he's always enjoyed school and getting involved in extracurricular activities. "I had to get moved from my kindergarten class," Samuel said. "I think I was excelling too quickly." According to Samuel, he continued to do well in school - and picked up all the extracurriculars he could in the process. "I played music when I was younger, chess clubs, cross country, track, leadership and things like that," Samuel said. 'I love school, it's like my favorite thing ever." Samuel's teachers and advisors say that even as a freshman at Central East, he showed himself to be a promising student and hard worker. "I've known Samuel since probably his freshman year. He was definitely an eager student from the very beginning," Central East High School Career Counselor Jill Brooks said. "He started taking dual enrollment classes early on." Brooks says leading into Samuel's senior year, she tried to temper his expectations like many students. Brooks says she didn't want Samuel to feel the devastation of being rejected from the college you wanted to get into. "I was trying to help him be realistic, just like I would with any other student. While secretly hoping that this would be the outcome for him - because I know how hard he's worked." Samuel says he struggled with impostor syndrome while sending out his transcripts and college essays. "My biggest obstacle is myself. I have a ton of self-doubt," Samuel said. "My mentality was always, 'I'll just lower their acceptance rate. I'll just be another one of the rejected people. But at least I'll do it.' That was my mentality." Throwing caution to the wind, Samuel sent out his applications to several schools, and on Ivy Day he opened seven applications at once in front of his parents and older sister. "I was scared of rejection, especially in front of my parents," Samuel said. "But it was like success after success. I was sharing the successes with my parents, and they looked so excited." Samuel and his family's reaction landed on TikTok and gained several hundred thousand views - with that getting several thousand cousins too. "People are calling me cousin online because like, my acceptances are their acceptances," Samuel said. "They call me, 'Un orgullo para la comunidad,' the pride to the community." Samuel says the support he's received online, on campus and at home means everything to him. "A big part of especially like my essays and stuff like that was being from the Valley was being first gen was being Latino," Samuel said. "This is all, like, a little bit intimidating, but I think I'm just really fortunate." Samuel hopes to study political science and eventually attend law school - but for now, his toughest decision is choosing from the 15 schools that said yes. ...read more read less