When he’s not behind the screen of his laptop at university tutorials, Daniel Miranda is flaunting his Spanish in front of his mates by singing Luis Fonsi’s Despacito, often out of key.
Daniel’s parents, Claudia and Mario, were originally from El Salvador, hence his love of Spanish music. Once the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador came to power in 1979, initiating the Salvadorian Civil War, the Miranda family made plans to get out, and get out fast.
Upon migrating to Australia and settling in the suburb of Templestowe, their El Salvadorian culture remained intact. When Daniel was born (November 4, 1998), he learned to speak both Spanish and English, and was engrossed in the history of his homeland.
Complete with his massive grin and equally large afro, Daniel exudes confidence and is nearly always the loudest person in the room.
But Daniel wasn’t always like this, and it was only until he began high school that his huge personality began to manifest.
“In primary school I was very quiet, struggled to find my voice. I was more focussed on learning than anything else,” Daniel said.
Attending St Kevin’s Primary School in Templestowe from 2004-2010, Daniel distanced himself from the cohort of approximately 30 during lunchtimes. While most of the students enjoyed playing soccer and footy, he found enjoyment playing video games.
“Most days I’d just want to go home with some mates, mainly my best friends Jack and Harry, to play xBox and Nintendo,” Daniel said.
From there, Daniel’s love of gaming grew. Soon he had started up his own YouTube channel, AUCheezy, and within the space of a few years had gathered a following of 35,000 subscribers.
Once in high school, Daniel’s self-described “outright stupidity” was nurtured and ultimately thrived in the all-boys school, Marcellin College. The game, “what are the odds”, was the clear favourite among his group of friends.
A game of chance, two people were pitted against each other in order to complete a set challenge. Whether it be jumping the entire canteen queue and spending the most money, or moving the desks closer to the teacher without them noticing in class, the game was adored by peers, and reluctantly, teachers alike.
“I felt so much more included as a whole, and a whole lot more myself,” Daniel said.
“Everyone had everyone’s back and the banter in each class was unreal.”
Doing two Year 12 subjects the previous year, Daniel found himself with a lot of free periods in his final year, something he likens to “the timetable of a uni student”.
In his now-typical fashion, Daniel would often sneak into the classes of friends, seeing how long it would take for teachers to notice he was there, or would even go so far as to hide in cupboards and make noises to unaware teachers which hinted at his presence.
His final year was “by far the greatest year of his life” and was topped off after he was elected as house captain, meaning he was able to meet more students and leave his legacy on the school.
“The relationships with teachers I built through this captaincy was great; relationships I’m sure will get me back to the college some day, making presentations on life after school. I hope. I was an alright kid…”
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