EAST CHICAGO | An East Chicago Central High School senior will be heading to Harvard University in the fall.

Manuel Mendoza, 17, learned this week he had been accepted by the prestigious Ivy League school.

His father, Mike Mendoza, said the Indiana Harbor area resident plans to major in chemistry.

"This young man is destined for great things," Central High Principal Larry Allen said. "He's a terrific role model, and we're all very proud of him."

Manuel Mendoza comes from a class of very smart students in the city, said Kristin Frank, a teacher for the group through the gifted and talented program at Franklin Elementary School.

"He's had a plan since sixth grade to go to Harvard," Frank said. "He's absolutely brilliant -- they're people I will never forget."

Manuel Mendoza is putting in long hours after class with the school's award-winning Science Olympiad team, his father said, in preparation for next month's competition.

As a sophomore in 2008, Mendoza was part of the first-ever Central High science team to make it to the state finals.

"It's great that Manuel has chosen Harvard for his continuing education," Allen said. "There are many schools in Indiana that have never had a student attend Harvard."