By JOANNA CATTANACH / The Dallas Morning News

McKINNEY – As the oldest child in a family of five siblings, 21-year-old Gonzalo Serrano Jr. is used to being first in just about everything.

MILTON HINNANT/DMN

Gonzalo Serrano Jr. is the first student from McMurry University to participate in the Senator Gregory Luna Legislative Scholars and Fellows Program in the state Capitol. Mr. Serrano - who came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico when he was 13 but now has legal status - is a 2003 McKinney High School First in Family graduate.

He's the first-born son of Gonzalo Serrano and Evangelina Serrano, the first in his family to graduate from high school, from college, and the first McMurry University student to attend the Senator Gregory Luna Legislative Scholars and Fellows Program at the Capitol in Austin.

As a fellow, Mr. Serrano has been assigned to the office of state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. His duties include assisting with research, preparing bills, dealing with constituents and acting as a legislative aide for the senator through the remainder of the legislative session.

Mr. Serrano's supervisor, Legislative Director Ida Garcia, has worked with many interns but says Mr. Serrano's attitude and abilities have made him a standout. "He has by far been the most impressive," Ms. Garcia said.

"He's a go-getter," said Ms. Garcia. "Everybody likes him; he's very professional, self-motivated."

Mr. Serrano is a 2003 McKinney High School First in Family graduate, and a recipient of the Lynn Medford Scholarship from the McKinney Education Foundation.

First in Family graduates, said foundation executive director Darrell Slabaugh, are students "who have the capabilities but may not have the encouragement," not because their families aren't proponents of higher education, but because many families simply do not have the background or knowledge of what it takes to get into college.

"Mr. Serrano has been strongly encouraged," Mr. Slabaugh said.

His strongest proponent is friend and mentor Rebecca Oaxaca, a counselor for the McKinney Independent School District, who has watched Mr. Serrano's progress with great pride.

Harvey Oaxaca, interim principal at McKinney North High School, has worked alongside his wife and describes the entire process as a family affair. He and his wife are raising funds for a Oaxaca family scholarship geared toward deserving students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to go to college.

Ms. Oaxaca said that when she first met Mr. Serrano, he wasn't pursuing accelerated classes or higher education.

Impressed by his intelligence, Ms. Oaxaca soon began walking Mr. Serrano through the maze of the college admissions process, but not before receiving approval from Mr. Serrano's father.

Sitting on a couch in the Serrano home, Ms. Oaxaca, now a welcomed member of the family, said family support and approval was an important step.

"I've always had support from my parents," Mr. Serrano said. "I was left to make my own decisions."

He also received help through a scholarship fund at Vent-A-Hood, the Richardson-based company where his father works.

"I think the world of him," said Vent-A-Hood chief executive Miles "Skip" Woodall III. "I tell my son, who's a friend of his. 'Keep up with Gonzalo. He'll go a long way."

But getting into college and financing an education were not easy.

Mr. Serrano immigrated to the U.S. illegally, along with his brothers and sisters, from Guanajuato, Mexico, when he was 13. Although Mr. Serrano's father had pursued residency status and was sponsoring his family, who migrated after he did, the process was not complete.

That's a problem for many families, Ms. Oaxaca said. She encourages the young men and women she works with to pursue education as far as they can but said the immigration process is long and tedious. "They can have a master's degree and yet not be able to have a job, not be able to get a driver's license."

The Serranos are all now legal immigrants, but the controversy surrounding immigration is not lost on Mr. Serrano.

"Whether they like it or not, it's going to happen," Mr. Serrano said. "I hope people can realize that we as Latinos can also contribute to the success of this country."

The elder Mr. Serrano couldn't agree more. The 41-year-old factory worker with a third-grade education and broken English has watched with great pride the strides his son has made.

He cried at his son's college graduation last month, Ms. Oaxaca said. The father sheepishly denied it, but the respect and love he has for his son is plain to see.

Mr. Serrano understands the leadership position he has in his family and community and encourages his younger siblings to pursue an education, to the point of annoyance, he admits: "I think they get tired of me."

Like his father, Mr. Serrano hopes to see his family succeed.

"I've been given an opportunity, so I have to make a difference," he said.

E-mail jcattanach@dallasnews.com