Some of the most accomplished students in Northern California gathered with their families at Stanford University for the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards on Tuesday, November 29. The ceremony honored these students with a reception and a presentation of awards for outstanding achievement in academics and community involvement and their interest in one of seven categories including Business and Entrepreneurship, Community Service, Education, Engineering, Healthcare and Science, Innovation and Technology, and Mathematical Science. Three students were awarded in each category and all students received a grant for education expenses or community projects.
Many recipients spoke about the award as a stepping-stone to achieving even greater success in the future. The first step for many will be applying to some of the top colleges in California and the United States, like Anthony Ortega who is applying to UC Berkeley, Columbia, and Stanford. Anthony, who took home the Silver award in the Engineering category, is a Bay Area native from Hayward who attends Oakland Charter High School.
Marisol Contreras of San Pablo exemplifies the determination of this exceptional group of scholars. By the time of her graduation from Middle College High School, Marisol will concurrently receive three associates’ degrees from Contra Costa College. Her advice to the incoming high school freshman? Plan your path early on and take advantage of all resources offered to you. She has many aspirations, including becoming a doctor, a teacher, or the director of a nonprofit such as Metas which supported her with tutoring over the last few years.
Marisol and her mother, Maria Contreras, who was also an award recipient at the event for her role of support, spoke of the hardwork and sacrifices they both had to make to allow for such success so early in life. Maria told I&S, “la educacion es un herramienta de un buen futura para los hijos que es para que ellos puedan tener una vida mejor” which translates to “education is a tool for a great future so that children can have a better life”.
Chairman of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, Emmanuel Pleitez, told I&S that he sees the organization’s most valuable asset and impact on the country as the talent pool of Latino youth that they are able to identify and recognize publicly. As the fastest growing population in the U.S., Pleitez argues that all enterprises must connect with Hispanic audiences and that hiring Latinos can be an effective way to do this. About the Youth Awards he said, “we’ve been able to see success because we’ve been doing this for 20 years, recognizing young Latinos out of high school” and that “our job is to mobilize and help them do more” in their schools and communities.
The Youth Awards began in 1998 to shine the spotlight on exceptional talent in the Latino community and combat stereotypes about Latino youth. After reviewing some 20,000 applications from 10 regions in the United States, 21 students from Northern California were selected. They are complemented by an extensive series of over 80 LOFT programs such as Latino leadership symposia, coder summits, and entertainment bootcamps that provide invaluable experiences for tens of thousands of Latino youth and their peers ages 15-35.
The Youth Awards are part of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit established by the White House in 1987 to support Latinos in taking on leadership positions in their communities.