Pasadena teen with rare condition is a YouTube star and inspiration

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- A recent Pasadena ISD graduate is inspiring people across the world.

Eduardo Verestegui, 18, is a rising YouTube star with nearly 400,000 followers. He's known for creating videos that explain what life is like as an immigrant to the United States.

"I moved to the United States in 2013 and I wanted to share my experiences as a newcomer to this country," expressed Verestegui. "It wasn't the same as Mexico. A lot of the things were different. Schools were different, the whole academic system was different. I did speak very little English, so I began making videos about how life is in the United States and I made those videos in Spanish."

Several of Verestegui's videos have received over 1 million views. The videos cover topics such as learning English and his daily routine as a student at Lewis Career and Technical High School.

Verestegui's most popular video, which has almost 6 million views, explains the rare condition he was born with.

"It's called Goldenhar Syndrome and it's basically a syndrome that affects the person physically, so that's why I have some facial features that could be distinctive from the majority of people," said Verestegui. "Of course that video inspired a lot of people, who also have different syndromes, to tell me that my story has inspired them in some way. That makes me feel very happy and honored."

In May, Verestegui was one of 15 students across the state who received a Student Hero award from the Texas State Board of Education. The award recognizes students who have made a difference in their school or community.

Verestegui also graduated from Lewis Career and Technical High School in May. During all four years of high school, he took video and audio production courses.

"If you ask me what my dream job would be, it would definitely have to be opening my own video production company," said Verestegui.

He is currently majoring in digital media at the University of Houston and interning at Pasadena ISD, where he creates videos and covers events for the communications department. According to Verestegui, he will continue to create YouTube videos throughout college.

"YouTube actually did spark my interest in video production," said Verestegui. "The main message that I want people to take away from my videos is chase your dreams no matter what."

To view some of Verestegui's most popular videos, visit his YouTube channel.

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