Holland community helps Diamante Balcazar turn Harvard dream into reality

When Diamante Balcazar was in sixth grade, he made an ambitious declaration: He wanted to attend Harvard University.

Instead of dismissing the dream, teachers in Holland Public Schools encouraged it.

“They said, ‘If that’s the dream, then we want to see you reach it,'” Balcazar says.

Balcazar graduated from Holland High School in 2021 and entered Harvard University that fall. Four years later, in 2025, he became the first person in his family to graduate from college, earning a degree in neuroscience with a secondary concentration in social anthropology.

Fewer than 4 out of every 100 students who applied to Harvard that year were accepted. The famed Ivy League university received 57,435 applications for the Class of 2025 and accepted 1,968 students, or about 3.4%. About 21% of those accepted were the first in their families to attend college, according to Harvard.

Balcazar now works as a clinical research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital and plans to pursue a doctorate.

He credits much of his success to the people around him. His family gave him a strong start. Teachers, community leaders, employers, and volunteer work in Holland helped him gain the confidence and skills to reach his goals.

“I had so many great teachers who were really there, really supporting me, really rooting for me to chase those big dreams,” Balcazar says.

Nick Vartanian, a world history teacher at Holland High School, remembers a student who set ambitious goals and was willing to put in the work to reach them.

“Diamante is driven, fearless, and passionate about school and life,” Vartanian says. “He has always been a trailblazer and set high expectations for himself.”

Balcazar’s approach to learning stood out to Vartanian.

“What I loved most about him in high school was his outstanding work ethic,” Vartanian says. “He was never afraid to ask questions to clarify his thinking.”

Support along his path

Balcazar says reaching Harvard wasn’t something he did alone. Along the way, his family, teachers, employers and community leaders encouraged him and gave him opportunities to learn and lead. 

Balcazar grew up in a low-income family with immigrant ties to Mexico. His family worked in agriculture, factories, and as mechanics as they built a life in the United States.

He watched his parents and grandparents work long hours and make sacrifices to create opportunities for the next generation.

“My parents always made it a point to say, ‘We’re working really hard, and you have an opportunity through education to help further the family and set yourself up for success,'” Balcazar says.

His grandparents played an important role in his life. Balcazar lived with them during high school after his parents moved to Houston.

Balcazar says his involvement with the city of Holland gave him experience working with others, solving problems, and becoming a leader.

He became involved with the city’s youth programs as a high school freshman, starting with Teen Court. Esther Fifelski, the city’s human relations director, remembers Balcazar getting involved from the beginning.

“He was on Teen Court and immediately started clerking and taking the notes, asked questions, offered feedback,” Fifelski says. “Over the next few years, Diamante blossomed into a confident, strong voice.”

Balcazar later joined the Holland Youth Advisory Council’s Core Council and became its chairperson. He helped plan community events, beach cleanups, and youth movie nights. He also learned how city boards and committees work.

Fifelski watched him grow.

“Diamante blossomed right before my eyes into the strong young man that he is today,” she says. “I watched him develop and grow into a very confident young man who strived for excellence.”

She remembers him as someone who thought carefully about issues and was willing to consider different sides.

“You could always count on Diamante to turn over a stone in discussion,” Fifelski says. “He was very thoughtful in responses.”

Balcazar remembers learning how decisions get made and how people with different perspectives work toward a common goal.

“I got a good understanding of how you navigate different perspectives from different board members, and really, how do you have a board that’s fully functioning.”

City Hall wasn’t the only place where Balcazar found mentors and encouragement.

The Holland Farmers Market was another important part of his life. He landed his first job there and continued working at the market throughout high school and during trips home while attending Harvard.

“There were a number of people there who supported me in my journey so far and encouraged me to grow,” Balcazar says.

Balcazar says his Holland experiences helped prepare him for Harvard, where working with people from around the world became part of his college experience.

“I think the biggest thing that it showed me is just the idea of having grace,” Balcazar says. “You don’t know what people are going through or where they’re coming from.”

“Holland Public Schools was very fortunate to be so multicultural, and I think that’s what really prepared me to succeed at Harvard,” he says. “Being able to work with different people, understand different backgrounds, have different perspectives, and really just be open-minded.”

Fresh experiences

Starting at Harvard brought new challenges. Balcazar was accepted during the COVID-19 pandemic and had never visited the campus. It was also his first trip outside Michigan on his own.

“From day one, I was challenged,” he says.

The academics were demanding, but Balcazar also found something familiar: mentors. He says professors who were leaders in their fields still made time to invest in students.

“They never let that get in the way of really being there and really being mentors,” Balcazar says.

His studies and research opportunities took him as far as Japan. His experiences growing up also influenced the research questions he hopes to pursue in graduate school.

Balcazar is interested in language development and how a person’s environment can influence it. The interest is personal. His younger brother has autism, and Balcazar became curious about how growing up in a bilingual, low-income household could affect development.

Harvard also helped him develop a new musical interest. Balcazar was classically trained as a violist through Holland Public Schools. But in college, he found the classical music scene highly competitive, while he wanted music to remain something he enjoyed.

Then a friend encouraged him to audition for Harvard’s mariachi group. Though the viola isn’t a traditional mariachi instrument and Balcazar was accustomed to playing from sheet music, he grew up hearing mariachi music at family gatherings.

“I gave it a shot. I tried out, and the rest is history,” Balcazar says. “I never looked back.”

He eventually became president of Harvard’s mariachi ensemble, which was featured in The Boston Globe and on the website of Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. After graduating, Balcazar brought that experience back to Holland, working with Holland High School students to build interest in mariachi and start an after-school program.

Remembering his roots

Balcazar’s desire to give back extends beyond music.

During trips home from Harvard, he visited Holland schools to share his experience navigating college as a first-generation, low-income student.

“I made it a point every year to go and talk to the kids,” Balcazar says.

Vartanian has seen the commitment continue since Balcazar left Holland High.

“Diamante has always been gracious about giving back to his school and community,” Vartanian says. “He has volunteered to come speak to my classes several times over the past years.”

Balcazar’s visits bring his experience full circle. Teachers and community leaders once encouraged a sixth grader who announced that he wanted to attend Harvard. Now, he wants younger students to see possibilities for themselves.

He says one of the most rewarding parts of returning to Holland has been connecting with students and “being able to be the person that I had growing up for somebody else.”

Vartanian sees the same quality in his former student.

“He fills a room with his positive energy, and I am a better person for knowing him,” Vartanian says.

While his education and career have taken him far from West Michigan, Balcazar hasn’t ruled out eventually returning.

“I would love to come back to Holland,” he says. “Even though I’m so far away from the city, my heart still lies in Holland. I really want to continue giving back.”

Photos courtesy of Diamante Balcazar