Last week, Community as Campus Coordinator, Mr. Marvin Garcia, formally presented scholarships to seniors Romeo Davila, Kiara Hernandez and Alexana Martinez on behalf of the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP). Each student was awarded a $2000 scholarship to help in their pursuit of higher education. This scholarship is awarded to students of Puerto Rican descent who have strong academic backgrounds and have participated in service to their community. The scholarship organization asks students to write a short biography about themselves and an essay about their connection to Puerto Rican culture. Our three seniors were three of only 100 students to receive this prestigious award.
In meeting with the students, Mr. Garcia expressed his excitement for these young people to be receiving this honor and for their future plans. Romeo, Kiara, and Alexana are all actively involved in their communities and agreed to maintain that commitment while in college. They specifically want to serve as positive reflections for Clemente as well as their elementary schools. In addition, the students wrote essays about their connection to Puerto Rican culture. Mr. Garcia informed them that the essays they wrote were instrumental in the decision to award them the scholarships. He and the NPRDP Scholarship Committee were particularly impressed with how well the students expressed their connection to Puerto Rican culture and its influence on who they are today.
The students are aware that they have set a precedent and Mr. Garcia is hopeful that through their academic performance in college, we can not only get future students from Clemente to receive this award, but that our three recipients will also obtain future scholarships from the NPRDP. With the strongest of Wildcat pride, all three students are ready to blaze this trail ahead!