Business & Entrepreneurship
GOLD - Celeste Mondragon
SILVER - Selina Jorge
BRONZE - Rose Gonzalez
Community Service
GOLD - Jeremias Castillo
SILVER - Paola Rojas
BRONZE - Mía Ordóñez
Education
GOLD - Mila Acosta-Morales
SILVER - Sofia Garcia
BRONZE - Benny Duran
Engineering
GOLD - Steven Romero-Ruiz
SILVER - Diana Omar
BRONZE - Matthew Lowe
Healthcare & Science
GOLD - Jeprika Rodriguez
SILVER - Kaitlyn Miranda
BRONZE - Kyla Phillips
Media & Entertainment
GOLD - Maia Nehme
SILVER - Mateo Traini
BRONZE - Gonzalo Martinez Ferraez
Public Service & Social Justice
GOLD - Miguel Chiapetta
SILVER - Claudia Merchan
BRONZE - Paula Garcia Monagas
Sports & Fitness
GOLD - Mateo Rampoldi
SILVER - Isabella Lugo
BRONZE - Zuriel Jimenez
Sustainability (Green)
GOLD - Cassia Lopez
SILVER - Camila Amaya Navarrete
BRONZE - Emily Ruck
Technology
GOLD - Sebastian Amador
SILVER - Max Lovell
BRONZE - Raquel Iga
Business & Entrepreneurship
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Celeste Mondragon
Hometown: Rockville, MD
High School: Saint Andrew's Episcopal School
Hispanic Heritage: Salvadoran
Celeste’s business spirit comes from her grandmother who was brave enough to come to this country under the circumstances she had to. Her family did not have the opportunity for a proper education, did not know the language, but she prevailed as she was able to get her US citizenship, and was able to open and keep afloat, despite numerous recessions and a pandemic, El Tamarindo, one of the longest standing restaurants in Washington, D.C. At the restaurant, besides her normal hosting duties, Celeste has been designing innovative marketing strategies to advertise to not only attract new customers but to maintain old ones. These marketing campaigns can be seen in the social media posts she creates or the brand partnerships she secures or the creative customer incentives she comes up with. Her work at El Tamarindo with creating content set her up for other opportunities as A Collective of Black Alumni from her school hired her as their social media intern. Her role there was to create and establish their brand, make over 100 promotional posts, and to help fundraise over 40k in donations so that they could continue their good work. Celeste did such a great job that she was recently promoted to the role of Lead Social Media Coordinator.
With a keen eye and knack for marketing, through the Leadership Initiatives’ International Leadership and Business Internship, Celeste was paired with Deborah Obalohun who is a rising Nigerian entrepreneur. In this internship, Celeste and her team were tasked with devising a plan to sustain Ms. Obalohun’s restaurant. The stakes for this were high as it involved a real restaurant and someone’s livelihood. This program allowed for Celeste and her team to gain exposure to a real business, researching top business studies, working across different time zones, and even facing a language and other international barriers. By working as a team they were able to come up with creative problem solving, which led to their formal presentation of their findings on a sustainable solution that would work for Ms. Obalohun. In the end, Celeste was not only able to come up with a plan that worked well for her client but also raise some seed money for her to grow her business. This experience further cemented Celeste’s desire to help transform local businesses especially for ones owned by BIPOC.
Confident, engaged and on fire was how her college counselor described Celeste, and her resume backs it up. Besides the numerous internship experiences, she has started St. Andrew’s Association for Students of Color. Celeste was integral in setting up the infrastructure of the club, where she worked tirelessly with her senior mentor to ensure that the club had student government status and had an established elaborate application process. Now, she is the club’s President, where she encourages the members to be proactive and have their own major project to execute. She is able to manage this entire club while facing criticism from her peers that a club of this kind is not needed.
Last year, she earned the Certificate of Achievement International Business and an advocate award for community leadership. She will be attending Georgetown University, Tulane University, or Rice University to study Business Marketing in the fall.
High School: Saint Andrew's Episcopal School
Hispanic Heritage: Salvadoran
Celeste’s business spirit comes from her grandmother who was brave enough to come to this country under the circumstances she had to. Her family did not have the opportunity for a proper education, did not know the language, but she prevailed as she was able to get her US citizenship, and was able to open and keep afloat, despite numerous recessions and a pandemic, El Tamarindo, one of the longest standing restaurants in Washington, D.C. At the restaurant, besides her normal hosting duties, Celeste has been designing innovative marketing strategies to advertise to not only attract new customers but to maintain old ones. These marketing campaigns can be seen in the social media posts she creates or the brand partnerships she secures or the creative customer incentives she comes up with. Her work at El Tamarindo with creating content set her up for other opportunities as A Collective of Black Alumni from her school hired her as their social media intern. Her role there was to create and establish their brand, make over 100 promotional posts, and to help fundraise over 40k in donations so that they could continue their good work. Celeste did such a great job that she was recently promoted to the role of Lead Social Media Coordinator.
With a keen eye and knack for marketing, through the Leadership Initiatives’ International Leadership and Business Internship, Celeste was paired with Deborah Obalohun who is a rising Nigerian entrepreneur. In this internship, Celeste and her team were tasked with devising a plan to sustain Ms. Obalohun’s restaurant. The stakes for this were high as it involved a real restaurant and someone’s livelihood. This program allowed for Celeste and her team to gain exposure to a real business, researching top business studies, working across different time zones, and even facing a language and other international barriers. By working as a team they were able to come up with creative problem solving, which led to their formal presentation of their findings on a sustainable solution that would work for Ms. Obalohun. In the end, Celeste was not only able to come up with a plan that worked well for her client but also raise some seed money for her to grow her business. This experience further cemented Celeste’s desire to help transform local businesses especially for ones owned by BIPOC.
Confident, engaged and on fire was how her college counselor described Celeste, and her resume backs it up. Besides the numerous internship experiences, she has started St. Andrew’s Association for Students of Color. Celeste was integral in setting up the infrastructure of the club, where she worked tirelessly with her senior mentor to ensure that the club had student government status and had an established elaborate application process. Now, she is the club’s President, where she encourages the members to be proactive and have their own major project to execute. She is able to manage this entire club while facing criticism from her peers that a club of this kind is not needed.
Last year, she earned the Certificate of Achievement International Business and an advocate award for community leadership. She will be attending Georgetown University, Tulane University, or Rice University to study Business Marketing in the fall.
SILVER - Selina Jorge
Hometown: Hughesville, MD
High School: North Point High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican
At only seventeen, Selina Jorge already has numerous businesses under her belt. When she was just eleven years old, she started making slime and would sell to her friends and classmates; selling over 30 containers. Since then, she has utilized numerous talents such as her artistic abilities where she makes posters to support her school’s football players, which she sells for $5 dollars a poster. Lastly, Selina’s clothing business started to make a profit after one month. Instead of using this money to fund short-term pleasure, Selina has been saving the profits to help fund her college education. Besides an obvious strong entrepreneurial spirt, Selina has been gaining the necessary skills that she will need to have in business at her school’s Construction Design and Management program. While this is not the specific career route, she wishes to take she attributes it for narrowing her career path to business and teaching her the soft skills such as how to work with people despite differences in opinion or work ethic and how to market and sell the things that she creates. Next year, Selina sees herself wanting to major in Business Management and Human Resources and wants to be a Labor Relations Specialist. With this career she wants to ensure a safe and equitable workplace and have a positive impact on the way businesses are run and end some of the stereotypes on the jobs that Hispanic women and men have.
Giving back has been an integral part of Selina’s high school experience as she is a member of Northside High School’s National Honors Society and National Technical Honors Society. In these organizations, Selina has been active in both their book and toy drives for children, and also helping build two chicken coops, which were sold to raise money for her Construction Design and Management Program. Outside of school, Selina has volunteered at Elite Gymnastics Summer Camp where she helped with the drills, activities, and ensured the well-being and safety of the campers. Her supervisor highlights Selina’s maturity and her responsible nature in being able to foster and develop excellent relationships with not just the campers but with her co-workers and the parents as well. So well in fact, that several parents would pull the supervisor aside to say how much of a positive impact that Selina was making on their child, and how excited they would be to see her each morning. For a supervisor, Selina is everything you would want in an employee, she is able to handle any task thrown her way, has a positive attitude, and always on time. When work and school would overlap during the school year, Selina was able to handle the extra workload with ease so her manager is sure that she would be able to handle the pressure of a college environment seamlessly.
Next year, Selina hopes to stay in the mid-Atlantic and has applied to James Madison University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Maryland and will be studying Business Management and Human Resources and minor in Psychology.
High School: North Point High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican
At only seventeen, Selina Jorge already has numerous businesses under her belt. When she was just eleven years old, she started making slime and would sell to her friends and classmates; selling over 30 containers. Since then, she has utilized numerous talents such as her artistic abilities where she makes posters to support her school’s football players, which she sells for $5 dollars a poster. Lastly, Selina’s clothing business started to make a profit after one month. Instead of using this money to fund short-term pleasure, Selina has been saving the profits to help fund her college education. Besides an obvious strong entrepreneurial spirt, Selina has been gaining the necessary skills that she will need to have in business at her school’s Construction Design and Management program. While this is not the specific career route, she wishes to take she attributes it for narrowing her career path to business and teaching her the soft skills such as how to work with people despite differences in opinion or work ethic and how to market and sell the things that she creates. Next year, Selina sees herself wanting to major in Business Management and Human Resources and wants to be a Labor Relations Specialist. With this career she wants to ensure a safe and equitable workplace and have a positive impact on the way businesses are run and end some of the stereotypes on the jobs that Hispanic women and men have.
Giving back has been an integral part of Selina’s high school experience as she is a member of Northside High School’s National Honors Society and National Technical Honors Society. In these organizations, Selina has been active in both their book and toy drives for children, and also helping build two chicken coops, which were sold to raise money for her Construction Design and Management Program. Outside of school, Selina has volunteered at Elite Gymnastics Summer Camp where she helped with the drills, activities, and ensured the well-being and safety of the campers. Her supervisor highlights Selina’s maturity and her responsible nature in being able to foster and develop excellent relationships with not just the campers but with her co-workers and the parents as well. So well in fact, that several parents would pull the supervisor aside to say how much of a positive impact that Selina was making on their child, and how excited they would be to see her each morning. For a supervisor, Selina is everything you would want in an employee, she is able to handle any task thrown her way, has a positive attitude, and always on time. When work and school would overlap during the school year, Selina was able to handle the extra workload with ease so her manager is sure that she would be able to handle the pressure of a college environment seamlessly.
Next year, Selina hopes to stay in the mid-Atlantic and has applied to James Madison University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Maryland and will be studying Business Management and Human Resources and minor in Psychology.
BRONZE - Rose Gonzalez
Hometown: Hyattsville, MD
High School: Fairmont Heights High School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican & Puerto Rican
Growing up, Rose has always been interested in numbers and would find herself drawn to them whether it be trying to figure out how much their McDonald’s order will be before it was rung up or counting the minutes they had been in the car. Whatever it was, if it involved numbers, Rose was fascinated. This love suited her well in her math courses and she was thrilled when she realized that she could make a career of this skill. During her sophomore year of high school, Rose took her first business related course of Principles of Business Administration and Management, so while this class was her first taste of business, it was not until her Principles of Accounting Finance Class that Rose started picturing her career. This class allowed for Rose to see herself as an accountant, going through an accounting cycle, preparing general ledgers and trail balances all got her excited for a future in business. Since then, Rose has joined her school’s Business Academy and will be graduating with three certifications, Information Technology Specialist Certification in Java, Microsoft Office Certification for Word Expert, and Microsoft Office Certification in Power Point, and is currently working on her fourth certification. This is particularly notable, as most of her classmates will only have one of those. Besides the business academy, Rose has also taken numerous dual-enrollment courses such as Applied College Algebra, Intro to Statistics, Foundations of Communication, and Introduction to Information Technology.
At school, she is a member of the varsity team for both tennis and lacrosse and completed her school’s two- year piano curriculum in seven months. In addition, she has volunteered as a transcriber for the Library of Congress: By the People since 2020 and serves as a Talent Search Ambassador. Rose has impressed her teachers so much; they highlight not only her ability to succeed but her willingness to not always take the path of least resistance but will challenge herself to meet new goals.
Living in a community with a high population of first-generation immigrants, Rose wanted to find ways to make that transition easier. She started off small just assisting where she saw someone may need help communicating at a retail store or someone confused at school. These actions inspired her to start volunteering at an after-school ESOL program for elementary aged school students. Here she is not only able to help the students with the English language, ensure the parents have a trusted individual to translate between themselves the student and the school but also represents someone who is able to balance two cultures, their American culture and their ancestorial/homeland as Rose was born in Puerto Rico to her Dominican mother.
With a perfect 4.0 GPA, Rose will attend Towson University, Princeton University, or the University of Maryland, College Park to study accounting and minor in computer science.
High School: Fairmont Heights High School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican & Puerto Rican
Growing up, Rose has always been interested in numbers and would find herself drawn to them whether it be trying to figure out how much their McDonald’s order will be before it was rung up or counting the minutes they had been in the car. Whatever it was, if it involved numbers, Rose was fascinated. This love suited her well in her math courses and she was thrilled when she realized that she could make a career of this skill. During her sophomore year of high school, Rose took her first business related course of Principles of Business Administration and Management, so while this class was her first taste of business, it was not until her Principles of Accounting Finance Class that Rose started picturing her career. This class allowed for Rose to see herself as an accountant, going through an accounting cycle, preparing general ledgers and trail balances all got her excited for a future in business. Since then, Rose has joined her school’s Business Academy and will be graduating with three certifications, Information Technology Specialist Certification in Java, Microsoft Office Certification for Word Expert, and Microsoft Office Certification in Power Point, and is currently working on her fourth certification. This is particularly notable, as most of her classmates will only have one of those. Besides the business academy, Rose has also taken numerous dual-enrollment courses such as Applied College Algebra, Intro to Statistics, Foundations of Communication, and Introduction to Information Technology.
At school, she is a member of the varsity team for both tennis and lacrosse and completed her school’s two- year piano curriculum in seven months. In addition, she has volunteered as a transcriber for the Library of Congress: By the People since 2020 and serves as a Talent Search Ambassador. Rose has impressed her teachers so much; they highlight not only her ability to succeed but her willingness to not always take the path of least resistance but will challenge herself to meet new goals.
Living in a community with a high population of first-generation immigrants, Rose wanted to find ways to make that transition easier. She started off small just assisting where she saw someone may need help communicating at a retail store or someone confused at school. These actions inspired her to start volunteering at an after-school ESOL program for elementary aged school students. Here she is not only able to help the students with the English language, ensure the parents have a trusted individual to translate between themselves the student and the school but also represents someone who is able to balance two cultures, their American culture and their ancestorial/homeland as Rose was born in Puerto Rico to her Dominican mother.
With a perfect 4.0 GPA, Rose will attend Towson University, Princeton University, or the University of Maryland, College Park to study accounting and minor in computer science.
Community Service
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Jeremias Castillo
Hometown: Newark, NJ
High School: Technology High School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican
One of Jeremias’ motivating factors behind his desire for change has a sad catalyst. His father’s death in 2021 drove home the fact that individuals in majority minority districts just do not have the resources that counties with lower minority populations have. Not only is this system inherently unequal, but it also fails to account for other factors that directly impact one’s health such as access to healthy foods, predisposition, and lack of health care access. To help close this gap, Jeremias has worked on a research project on kidney-disease that delved into health disparity in Essex County, New Jersey specifically, where he pushed for solutions at the federal and state level. This cause is so important to Jeremias that he chose the topic health disparities among minorities, the institutional changes needed for progress, and how to move forward as his topic for speech competition, Stand and Deliver. His speech was so captivating that he not only made it past the first round, but his speech was selected out of all entries to make the national news reaching an audience of 3.6 million. This speech and advocacy was an opportunity to not only fight for his father’s memory but for other suppressed communities and underrepresented groups who suffer from health disparities. He was also tapped to be the keynote speaker for a spring symposium on food insecurity.
This wealth of knowledge comes from taken electives as part of his school’s biomedical cluster, where he has chosen to take electives such as Biomedical research and Medical Interventions. Aside from advocacy, Jeremias volunteers every Friday at Clara Mass Medical Center in their postoperative same-day surgery recovery unit to ease in the patients’ healing process. In addition, with the non-profit organization Leaders of the 21st Century, he has created over 1,000-gallon sized toiletry bags for the Newark Department of Health and Welfare to distribute to their displaced population.
Besides being a staunch advocate for eliminating health disparities, Jeremias passion for giving back can be seen through his work helping organize a food and clothing pantry for Temple Rock, his work as an interpreter, and as a festivity’s organizer, and clean-up crew at various events and functions. This work and giving back are meaningful for Jeremias, as the change he wished to see in his community should not wait for other people to start or for him to get older, it should start now with him.
Jeremias is described as an active member of his school community; he is an integral part of his school’s Student Council, Leaders of the 21st Century, National Honor Society, Journalism Club, Robotics Club, Debate Team, and HOSA, just to name a few.
Jeremias will surely add on to his already impressive resume. After high school, he will be attending Harvard College, Princeton University, or Georgetown University to major in political science and minor in Global Health.
High School: Technology High School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican
One of Jeremias’ motivating factors behind his desire for change has a sad catalyst. His father’s death in 2021 drove home the fact that individuals in majority minority districts just do not have the resources that counties with lower minority populations have. Not only is this system inherently unequal, but it also fails to account for other factors that directly impact one’s health such as access to healthy foods, predisposition, and lack of health care access. To help close this gap, Jeremias has worked on a research project on kidney-disease that delved into health disparity in Essex County, New Jersey specifically, where he pushed for solutions at the federal and state level. This cause is so important to Jeremias that he chose the topic health disparities among minorities, the institutional changes needed for progress, and how to move forward as his topic for speech competition, Stand and Deliver. His speech was so captivating that he not only made it past the first round, but his speech was selected out of all entries to make the national news reaching an audience of 3.6 million. This speech and advocacy was an opportunity to not only fight for his father’s memory but for other suppressed communities and underrepresented groups who suffer from health disparities. He was also tapped to be the keynote speaker for a spring symposium on food insecurity.
This wealth of knowledge comes from taken electives as part of his school’s biomedical cluster, where he has chosen to take electives such as Biomedical research and Medical Interventions. Aside from advocacy, Jeremias volunteers every Friday at Clara Mass Medical Center in their postoperative same-day surgery recovery unit to ease in the patients’ healing process. In addition, with the non-profit organization Leaders of the 21st Century, he has created over 1,000-gallon sized toiletry bags for the Newark Department of Health and Welfare to distribute to their displaced population.
Besides being a staunch advocate for eliminating health disparities, Jeremias passion for giving back can be seen through his work helping organize a food and clothing pantry for Temple Rock, his work as an interpreter, and as a festivity’s organizer, and clean-up crew at various events and functions. This work and giving back are meaningful for Jeremias, as the change he wished to see in his community should not wait for other people to start or for him to get older, it should start now with him.
Jeremias is described as an active member of his school community; he is an integral part of his school’s Student Council, Leaders of the 21st Century, National Honor Society, Journalism Club, Robotics Club, Debate Team, and HOSA, just to name a few.
Jeremias will surely add on to his already impressive resume. After high school, he will be attending Harvard College, Princeton University, or Georgetown University to major in political science and minor in Global Health.
SILVER - Paola Rojas
Hometown: Rockville, MD
High School: Richard Montgomery High School
Hispanic Heritage: Bolivian
As a little girl, Paola’s teachers always noticed her willingness to help others. Comments to her parents would always praise her ability to help other students put up their chairs, pick up things other students dropped or spilled; Paola was always there to lend a hand. This trait has followed Paola to today, where whom and where she helps has expanded to outside of the classroom. Starting in middle school, Paola wanted to be more proactive in her service, so instead of jumping in when these opportunities sprang up but to actively seek them out. These community service projects took the form of teaching French, coordinating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich drive, among others. Once in high school, Paola started volunteering at Rocket Helpers, where she was nominated to be the Secretary. In this student-led, community service club, they host a variety of activities like clothing drives, taco drives, sandwich drives, and canned food drives. At their last canned food drive, they were able to donate over 400 cans. Paola also selects clubs that make service a priority, such as the National Honor Society, which hosted a book drive and bake sale. Outside of school, Paola is a teacher’s aide, and participated for five weeks as an aide at a summer camp. In these programs, she finds herself drawn to students who are non-English speakers as she sees a younger version of herself in them. One moment that sticks out in her memory that is particularly touching was teaching a kindergartener the letters of his name. This process took a while, but Paola would try to come up with creative ways to teach him the letters. To encompass visual learning, Paola would point out the individual letters on his nametag and even come up with a silly song to help him learn. While the boy was initially frustrated with his lack of progress Paola would always be there with an encouraging, “una vez más y terminaremos, te lo prometo”. Soon, he was able to not only recite his name but write it flawlessly. In addition, she has been fundraising for the Children’s National Hospital housing initiative, tutoring students in different subjects, and cleaning local parks. In total, by the end of her junior year, Paola already had over 900 community service hours and big plans to serve more during her senior year.
At Richard Montgomery High School, Paola is not only a member but holds leadership positions in a variety of clubs. These include, National honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, French Honor Society, Red Cross Club, Jaguar Scholars Leadership Program, Med Analytic Leaders, New Student Ambassadors, Rocket Helpers, and the Moco Latin Youth Club. Even with numerous extracurriculars, she has an academically challenging schedule in which she excels evidenced by her unweighted 3.98 GPA.
Even in coursework that is a challenge for Paola, she always ends up on top. When her AP Calculus course work and material began to appear daunting, instead of being discouraged, Paola began to regularly attend the teacher’s office hours and changed how she studied. This testament of wills paid off as she got a Five on the AP Exam. With goals of being a physician, this inspiring Bolivian, will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Maryland, College Park, or the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to study neuroscience.
High School: Richard Montgomery High School
Hispanic Heritage: Bolivian
As a little girl, Paola’s teachers always noticed her willingness to help others. Comments to her parents would always praise her ability to help other students put up their chairs, pick up things other students dropped or spilled; Paola was always there to lend a hand. This trait has followed Paola to today, where whom and where she helps has expanded to outside of the classroom. Starting in middle school, Paola wanted to be more proactive in her service, so instead of jumping in when these opportunities sprang up but to actively seek them out. These community service projects took the form of teaching French, coordinating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich drive, among others. Once in high school, Paola started volunteering at Rocket Helpers, where she was nominated to be the Secretary. In this student-led, community service club, they host a variety of activities like clothing drives, taco drives, sandwich drives, and canned food drives. At their last canned food drive, they were able to donate over 400 cans. Paola also selects clubs that make service a priority, such as the National Honor Society, which hosted a book drive and bake sale. Outside of school, Paola is a teacher’s aide, and participated for five weeks as an aide at a summer camp. In these programs, she finds herself drawn to students who are non-English speakers as she sees a younger version of herself in them. One moment that sticks out in her memory that is particularly touching was teaching a kindergartener the letters of his name. This process took a while, but Paola would try to come up with creative ways to teach him the letters. To encompass visual learning, Paola would point out the individual letters on his nametag and even come up with a silly song to help him learn. While the boy was initially frustrated with his lack of progress Paola would always be there with an encouraging, “una vez más y terminaremos, te lo prometo”. Soon, he was able to not only recite his name but write it flawlessly. In addition, she has been fundraising for the Children’s National Hospital housing initiative, tutoring students in different subjects, and cleaning local parks. In total, by the end of her junior year, Paola already had over 900 community service hours and big plans to serve more during her senior year.
At Richard Montgomery High School, Paola is not only a member but holds leadership positions in a variety of clubs. These include, National honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, French Honor Society, Red Cross Club, Jaguar Scholars Leadership Program, Med Analytic Leaders, New Student Ambassadors, Rocket Helpers, and the Moco Latin Youth Club. Even with numerous extracurriculars, she has an academically challenging schedule in which she excels evidenced by her unweighted 3.98 GPA.
Even in coursework that is a challenge for Paola, she always ends up on top. When her AP Calculus course work and material began to appear daunting, instead of being discouraged, Paola began to regularly attend the teacher’s office hours and changed how she studied. This testament of wills paid off as she got a Five on the AP Exam. With goals of being a physician, this inspiring Bolivian, will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Maryland, College Park, or the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to study neuroscience.
BRONZE - Mía Ordóñez
Hometown: Fairfax, VA
High School: Bishop O'Connell High School
Hispanic Heritage: Ecuadoran & Salvadoran
Mia is very aware of the privileges that she has been blessed with in her life and due to that privilege she has been extremely active in her community to help those less fortunate than herself. Locally, she has hosted food drives, and volunteered at Second Story, an organization that is able to provide alternative housing for children in times of crisis and need. Second Story also encourages and gives the children the resources to make positive choices, offer support in critical points in their lives, and ability to achieve educational/academic success to overcome any obstacles they are currently facing. Most of Mia’s work at the organization was through Community-Based Services through their Family Resource’s Department. Other events that Mia helped spearhead are the Back-to-School Backpack and Supplies Event with the American Third Pillar Charities run out of DC, the Harvest Fest with Tuckahoe Elementary School, and an Annual Benefit and silent Auction with Commission by Christ, and the Cystic Fibrosis annual super dance drive. These events mean so much to Mia as a life of service or doing something just for the well-being of others is something that brings her joy. She remembers growing up the sacrifices her parents made to give her a better life. This experience has allowed Mia to be cognizant of the struggles others face and to be sympathetic and active in trying to help.
Outside of her local community, Mia has gone on a two-week Piura, Peru mission trip. Inspired by the people she met on the trip; Mia started a go-fund me to help fund some of the villages there that lack the necessities that we take for granted here in the United States. She was able to raise $3,000 to support many families get monthly food packages. While there, Mia got to personally deliver and meet the recipients of her donation. The families welcomed Mia into their home, where she got to make connections, hear their stories, and see just how much impact her actions had on them. On the mission, after a long day of service, the leaders asked if any students wanted to make the additional trip to the homeless shelter. Mia quickly raised her hand. There she got to assist in the women and children ward, but most impactful was hearing the stories of the perils those at the shelter took to get there. Their bravery and resilience keeps Mia motivated to give back.
While Mia dedicates a lot of her time to community service, she also maintains a rigorous course schedule. She has taken numerous AP courses and has even opted to take courses at local prestigious universities like the course US Political System at Georgetown University and Psychology/Neuroscience at American University. With numerous Honor Society enrollments under her belt, we know that Mia is going to excel and continue her commitment to giving back. Next fall, she will be studying psychology and forensic science at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, or Duke University.
High School: Bishop O'Connell High School
Hispanic Heritage: Ecuadoran & Salvadoran
Mia is very aware of the privileges that she has been blessed with in her life and due to that privilege she has been extremely active in her community to help those less fortunate than herself. Locally, she has hosted food drives, and volunteered at Second Story, an organization that is able to provide alternative housing for children in times of crisis and need. Second Story also encourages and gives the children the resources to make positive choices, offer support in critical points in their lives, and ability to achieve educational/academic success to overcome any obstacles they are currently facing. Most of Mia’s work at the organization was through Community-Based Services through their Family Resource’s Department. Other events that Mia helped spearhead are the Back-to-School Backpack and Supplies Event with the American Third Pillar Charities run out of DC, the Harvest Fest with Tuckahoe Elementary School, and an Annual Benefit and silent Auction with Commission by Christ, and the Cystic Fibrosis annual super dance drive. These events mean so much to Mia as a life of service or doing something just for the well-being of others is something that brings her joy. She remembers growing up the sacrifices her parents made to give her a better life. This experience has allowed Mia to be cognizant of the struggles others face and to be sympathetic and active in trying to help.
Outside of her local community, Mia has gone on a two-week Piura, Peru mission trip. Inspired by the people she met on the trip; Mia started a go-fund me to help fund some of the villages there that lack the necessities that we take for granted here in the United States. She was able to raise $3,000 to support many families get monthly food packages. While there, Mia got to personally deliver and meet the recipients of her donation. The families welcomed Mia into their home, where she got to make connections, hear their stories, and see just how much impact her actions had on them. On the mission, after a long day of service, the leaders asked if any students wanted to make the additional trip to the homeless shelter. Mia quickly raised her hand. There she got to assist in the women and children ward, but most impactful was hearing the stories of the perils those at the shelter took to get there. Their bravery and resilience keeps Mia motivated to give back.
While Mia dedicates a lot of her time to community service, she also maintains a rigorous course schedule. She has taken numerous AP courses and has even opted to take courses at local prestigious universities like the course US Political System at Georgetown University and Psychology/Neuroscience at American University. With numerous Honor Society enrollments under her belt, we know that Mia is going to excel and continue her commitment to giving back. Next fall, she will be studying psychology and forensic science at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, or Duke University.
Education
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Mila Acosta-Morales
Hometown: Chalfont, PA
High School: Central Bucks High School West
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
While Mila Acosta-Morales always knew she wanted to be an educator it was not until the summer before eleventh grade that she knew she wanted to be a special education teacher specifically. This realization came after the recommendation of her one teachers for her to participate in her school district’s Extended School Year Program. This program is designed for special needs students who require extra academic and positive social reinforcement so that they do not lose all of the progress from the year before during their summer break. Four days a week for six weeks, Mila would be there to help the students. In reflection, of what led to this career decision Mila says it was that she wants to help those who are often overlooked by society and the educational system as well. This program showed the benefit of just how a little bit of individual attention can make a world of difference. With her students, she hopes she can spark a thirst for knowledge, a curious nature, and to be inquisitive of the world around them.
To share her love for education, Mila has started her school’s Future Teachers of America Club. In the three years since the club’s creation, they have raised hundreds of dollars for numerous non-profits whose mission is promoting the importance of education. As the group’s leader, she spends hours outside of school to plan each meeting, spearhead every fundraiser and service project, and find volunteer opportunities for not only herself but for the other members. In addition, she has completed numerous service projects for both local and national organizations with the same goal.
Another club in which Sofia has a leadership position in the iWest United Club where she is the president. This club is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion. As president, she is in charge of organizing and participating in events whose goal is to not only make their school a better place but their community a well. So far, they have had events such as a food drive where they filled an entire school bus with necessities ranging from soup cans to diapers, all, which were donated to those who could use a helping hand. At her school specifically, they started the bi-annual Student Voice Day, which bring student leaders across the district on discuss ways that they can improve their schools but with a mental health lens specifically. While supporting someone’s physical needs are extremely important, mental health often gets left to the wayside and this event aims to change that.
Besides the previously mentioned organizations where Mila holds leadership positions, she is also part of her school’s Key Club, National Honor Society, and Best Buddies. Next year, Mila is considering double majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education at Elizabethtown College, DeSales University, or Millersville University.
High School: Central Bucks High School West
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
While Mila Acosta-Morales always knew she wanted to be an educator it was not until the summer before eleventh grade that she knew she wanted to be a special education teacher specifically. This realization came after the recommendation of her one teachers for her to participate in her school district’s Extended School Year Program. This program is designed for special needs students who require extra academic and positive social reinforcement so that they do not lose all of the progress from the year before during their summer break. Four days a week for six weeks, Mila would be there to help the students. In reflection, of what led to this career decision Mila says it was that she wants to help those who are often overlooked by society and the educational system as well. This program showed the benefit of just how a little bit of individual attention can make a world of difference. With her students, she hopes she can spark a thirst for knowledge, a curious nature, and to be inquisitive of the world around them.
To share her love for education, Mila has started her school’s Future Teachers of America Club. In the three years since the club’s creation, they have raised hundreds of dollars for numerous non-profits whose mission is promoting the importance of education. As the group’s leader, she spends hours outside of school to plan each meeting, spearhead every fundraiser and service project, and find volunteer opportunities for not only herself but for the other members. In addition, she has completed numerous service projects for both local and national organizations with the same goal.
Another club in which Sofia has a leadership position in the iWest United Club where she is the president. This club is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion. As president, she is in charge of organizing and participating in events whose goal is to not only make their school a better place but their community a well. So far, they have had events such as a food drive where they filled an entire school bus with necessities ranging from soup cans to diapers, all, which were donated to those who could use a helping hand. At her school specifically, they started the bi-annual Student Voice Day, which bring student leaders across the district on discuss ways that they can improve their schools but with a mental health lens specifically. While supporting someone’s physical needs are extremely important, mental health often gets left to the wayside and this event aims to change that.
Besides the previously mentioned organizations where Mila holds leadership positions, she is also part of her school’s Key Club, National Honor Society, and Best Buddies. Next year, Mila is considering double majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education at Elizabethtown College, DeSales University, or Millersville University.
SILVER - Sofia Garcia
Hometown: Gaithersburg, MD
High School: Watkins Mill High School
Hispanic Heritage: Guatemalan
Sofia decided to join her school’s IB program on the Child Development Pathway, which means by the time that she graduates she will already have a ton of valuable classroom experience. During her junior year, she took two Child Development courses, which required her to create lesson plans, projects and be in charge of children aged three to five, which was no small task. When not actively teaching, Sofia enjoyed just being able to read to them, and play games with them to keep learning fun. Over the summer, Sofia was selected to intern at the Goddard School of Gaithersburg as a teacher’s assistant. Here she would do it all from be in charge of set up centers, preparing and passing out all food and snacks, getting kids ready for nap, and supervising them on the playground.
All of this valuable work experiences means that Sofia was eligible for the Maryland State Department of Education certification and received the MSDE 90 +9 clock hour certificate. In order to receive this certificate, Sofia had to create projects, lesson plans and other materials in her child development classes into a portfolio that she had to submit to the state of Maryland. Even putting the portfolio together was a source of pride for Sofia as she got to reflect on all of the work that she had done all semester.
As a future educator, Sofia has seen areas in need of improvement that she hopes to tackle in the future. One of them being that school districts with a large population of underrepresented communities often receive less resources or more second-hand materials that white majority schools do, an issue that she sees firsthand at her majority minority school. Another is that her school is made up of almost half ESOL students and a large percentage of those are eligible for free and reduced meals. A concern that Sofia has is that she often sees these students getting left behind and are often ignored by their teachers. Despite being ignored, the students still come to school to ensure that they will get food that day. Sofia wants to ensure that no student is left behind, and to reduce some of the barriers that college costs. With a reduction to this obstacle, she hopes this will encourage students to not give up and to take advantage of their education opportunities offered in high school. To help her classmates, she encourages them to look and apply for scholarships, consider community college, and find mentors who can offer one-on-one support.
As a future educator, Sofia understands the importance of mental health. She is the current treasurer of the club, Our Minds Matter, where they delve into topics on suicide prevention, coping mechanism and identifying the signs of depression. She firmly believes that we cannot expect to have the most productive students if they are suffering with their mental health. To combat this, she urges for more support in schools, whether this is with more counselors, online resources, or even mental health days.
This talented Latina is leaning towards a degree in education and psychology and will be attending Mount Holyoke College, Towson University, or American University in the fall.
High School: Watkins Mill High School
Hispanic Heritage: Guatemalan
Sofia decided to join her school’s IB program on the Child Development Pathway, which means by the time that she graduates she will already have a ton of valuable classroom experience. During her junior year, she took two Child Development courses, which required her to create lesson plans, projects and be in charge of children aged three to five, which was no small task. When not actively teaching, Sofia enjoyed just being able to read to them, and play games with them to keep learning fun. Over the summer, Sofia was selected to intern at the Goddard School of Gaithersburg as a teacher’s assistant. Here she would do it all from be in charge of set up centers, preparing and passing out all food and snacks, getting kids ready for nap, and supervising them on the playground.
All of this valuable work experiences means that Sofia was eligible for the Maryland State Department of Education certification and received the MSDE 90 +9 clock hour certificate. In order to receive this certificate, Sofia had to create projects, lesson plans and other materials in her child development classes into a portfolio that she had to submit to the state of Maryland. Even putting the portfolio together was a source of pride for Sofia as she got to reflect on all of the work that she had done all semester.
As a future educator, Sofia has seen areas in need of improvement that she hopes to tackle in the future. One of them being that school districts with a large population of underrepresented communities often receive less resources or more second-hand materials that white majority schools do, an issue that she sees firsthand at her majority minority school. Another is that her school is made up of almost half ESOL students and a large percentage of those are eligible for free and reduced meals. A concern that Sofia has is that she often sees these students getting left behind and are often ignored by their teachers. Despite being ignored, the students still come to school to ensure that they will get food that day. Sofia wants to ensure that no student is left behind, and to reduce some of the barriers that college costs. With a reduction to this obstacle, she hopes this will encourage students to not give up and to take advantage of their education opportunities offered in high school. To help her classmates, she encourages them to look and apply for scholarships, consider community college, and find mentors who can offer one-on-one support.
As a future educator, Sofia understands the importance of mental health. She is the current treasurer of the club, Our Minds Matter, where they delve into topics on suicide prevention, coping mechanism and identifying the signs of depression. She firmly believes that we cannot expect to have the most productive students if they are suffering with their mental health. To combat this, she urges for more support in schools, whether this is with more counselors, online resources, or even mental health days.
This talented Latina is leaning towards a degree in education and psychology and will be attending Mount Holyoke College, Towson University, or American University in the fall.
BRONZE - Benny Duran
Hometown: Bloomfield, NJ
High School: Donald M. Payne Sr. School Of Technology
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican
Benny’s experience in the United States education system showed him that not all teachers are the same. But it is the exceptional teachers he hopes to be able to imitate, for their ability to not only be able to share the knowledge on a subject in an engaging way but be encouraging and a mentor to their students. This is how Benny feels about Jaime Escalante, who not only made a subject like AP Calculus a class that was passable, but also taught with such skill that all of his students Garfield High in east LA students were able to pass the AP exam and prove the “bad school, dumb students” stereotype wrong. This is made even more remarkable when considering the subject.
Benny had a small taste of what being a teacher will entail with his role as a summer counselor aide in 2022. There he was able to become a mentee to summer counselors at the Rotunda Pool in Newark. His responsibilities included not only ensuring that the kids were having fun, their safety in the pool, crossing the street when they would go to the park and playing with them on the playground. From this job, Benny was able to practice his ability to teach kids, assist the children as they navigated normal day-to-day occurrences like sharing, and being around others, all while letting them be themselves. Being themselves is important to Benny, as he takes being Dominican and being able to represent Latinx pride to the young Latinx students that he will soon teach to be proud of where they come from.
Currently, Benny tries to make his high school as rewarding as possible for his fellow classmates. He was tasked with being part of the welcoming committee to incoming freshman, where Benny wanted to ensure that the students felt comfortable and looking forward to going there. With that in mind, he is always trying to spread the word and encourage different club participation like for his anime club and National Honor Society. In the latter, he plays a huge part in setting up their events like their 2022 Field Day. These clubs not only unite kids with similar interests and goals but make it so that the school is also engaging. In anime club, where Benny is Vice President, has grown under his leadership and currently has hundreds of new members. To ensure that the members are engaged and enjoying their shared love of anime, the club has had a presence in club fairs, and that meetings have a fun and inclusive environment where they will watch anime, games, creating bonds, planning field trips and goals for the future.
Benny is also a phenomenal student, making honor roll all three of the previous years and taking numerous AP courses, and maintaining a perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA. His goals for the future included majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in History at The College of New Jersey, Seton Hall University, or Rutgers University – Newark.
High School: Donald M. Payne Sr. School Of Technology
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican
Benny’s experience in the United States education system showed him that not all teachers are the same. But it is the exceptional teachers he hopes to be able to imitate, for their ability to not only be able to share the knowledge on a subject in an engaging way but be encouraging and a mentor to their students. This is how Benny feels about Jaime Escalante, who not only made a subject like AP Calculus a class that was passable, but also taught with such skill that all of his students Garfield High in east LA students were able to pass the AP exam and prove the “bad school, dumb students” stereotype wrong. This is made even more remarkable when considering the subject.
Benny had a small taste of what being a teacher will entail with his role as a summer counselor aide in 2022. There he was able to become a mentee to summer counselors at the Rotunda Pool in Newark. His responsibilities included not only ensuring that the kids were having fun, their safety in the pool, crossing the street when they would go to the park and playing with them on the playground. From this job, Benny was able to practice his ability to teach kids, assist the children as they navigated normal day-to-day occurrences like sharing, and being around others, all while letting them be themselves. Being themselves is important to Benny, as he takes being Dominican and being able to represent Latinx pride to the young Latinx students that he will soon teach to be proud of where they come from.
Currently, Benny tries to make his high school as rewarding as possible for his fellow classmates. He was tasked with being part of the welcoming committee to incoming freshman, where Benny wanted to ensure that the students felt comfortable and looking forward to going there. With that in mind, he is always trying to spread the word and encourage different club participation like for his anime club and National Honor Society. In the latter, he plays a huge part in setting up their events like their 2022 Field Day. These clubs not only unite kids with similar interests and goals but make it so that the school is also engaging. In anime club, where Benny is Vice President, has grown under his leadership and currently has hundreds of new members. To ensure that the members are engaged and enjoying their shared love of anime, the club has had a presence in club fairs, and that meetings have a fun and inclusive environment where they will watch anime, games, creating bonds, planning field trips and goals for the future.
Benny is also a phenomenal student, making honor roll all three of the previous years and taking numerous AP courses, and maintaining a perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA. His goals for the future included majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in History at The College of New Jersey, Seton Hall University, or Rutgers University – Newark.
Engineering
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Steven Romero-Ruiz
Hometown: Stafford, VA
High School: North Stafford High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
In middle school Steven set the goal for himself to one day work at NASA and he has already done just that. As a sophomore, he heard about their Virginia Space Coast Scholars program and after taking and excelling in their challenging online pre-requisite course, that involved writing engineering reports and solving complex astrophysics problems, he was invited to participate in their summer academy. Here, Steven and the other students would be challenged to work together to design a mission using one of the five mission platforms offered at Wallops Flight Facility. Steven and his team opted to do a mission of which the goal was to help reduce global warming through cloud seeding using their Airborne Science Platform. Due to his performance in the summer academy, Steven was given the opportunity to apply for NASA’s Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Program, which also had its own unique aptitude test. After acing the test, Steven was invited to be a part of the summer academy at Langley Research Center, where he was one of ten students chosen for this exclusive opportunity. In this cohort, Steven and his group were in charge of helping design a human mission to Mars in collaboration with college interns and their NASA mentors. Steven’s role specifically was determining the radiation mitigation strategies to implement during the surface operation of the mission. To do this successfully, he would have to communicate with other departments to figure out what is possible in their budget constraints, which Steven was able to do. At the end of their time there, Steven and his group were instructed to come up with a formal presentation of their findings and research for NASA officials. In addition to the work, Steven enjoyed being able to be connected to mentors in the industry and connect to other students who had similar interests and goals as himself. What was particularly meaningful was how diverse his cohort was, so while there was not another Latino in the group, he credits the diversity being an important factor in how they were able to come up with solutions.
In school, Steven always impresses his teachers. Taking Algebra 2 as a freshman, his teacher noticed that he would not only rely on in-class instruction for his understanding and would be productive in finding outside resources if he ran into a problem or concept that needed more clarification. This ability to comprehend and be proactive in his math work was seen all throughout high school where he would earn A+ on all courses and even earning a 5 on the AP Calculus AB exam. To further his aerospace background, Steven has already taken numerous college courses such as Introduction to Aerospace, Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, Introduction to Aerospace Engineering and Introduction to Engineering Design.
With a perfect 4.0 GPA, Steven will be attending the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, or George Mason University to study Computer Science and minor in Software Engineering.
High School: North Stafford High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
In middle school Steven set the goal for himself to one day work at NASA and he has already done just that. As a sophomore, he heard about their Virginia Space Coast Scholars program and after taking and excelling in their challenging online pre-requisite course, that involved writing engineering reports and solving complex astrophysics problems, he was invited to participate in their summer academy. Here, Steven and the other students would be challenged to work together to design a mission using one of the five mission platforms offered at Wallops Flight Facility. Steven and his team opted to do a mission of which the goal was to help reduce global warming through cloud seeding using their Airborne Science Platform. Due to his performance in the summer academy, Steven was given the opportunity to apply for NASA’s Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Program, which also had its own unique aptitude test. After acing the test, Steven was invited to be a part of the summer academy at Langley Research Center, where he was one of ten students chosen for this exclusive opportunity. In this cohort, Steven and his group were in charge of helping design a human mission to Mars in collaboration with college interns and their NASA mentors. Steven’s role specifically was determining the radiation mitigation strategies to implement during the surface operation of the mission. To do this successfully, he would have to communicate with other departments to figure out what is possible in their budget constraints, which Steven was able to do. At the end of their time there, Steven and his group were instructed to come up with a formal presentation of their findings and research for NASA officials. In addition to the work, Steven enjoyed being able to be connected to mentors in the industry and connect to other students who had similar interests and goals as himself. What was particularly meaningful was how diverse his cohort was, so while there was not another Latino in the group, he credits the diversity being an important factor in how they were able to come up with solutions.
In school, Steven always impresses his teachers. Taking Algebra 2 as a freshman, his teacher noticed that he would not only rely on in-class instruction for his understanding and would be productive in finding outside resources if he ran into a problem or concept that needed more clarification. This ability to comprehend and be proactive in his math work was seen all throughout high school where he would earn A+ on all courses and even earning a 5 on the AP Calculus AB exam. To further his aerospace background, Steven has already taken numerous college courses such as Introduction to Aerospace, Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, Introduction to Aerospace Engineering and Introduction to Engineering Design.
With a perfect 4.0 GPA, Steven will be attending the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, or George Mason University to study Computer Science and minor in Software Engineering.
SILVER - Diana Omar
Hometown: Ellicott City, MD
High School: Mount Hebron High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
A chance encounter with the FIRST Lego League Program at a Girl Scouts event was what ignited Diana’s passion for engineering. This suited her well, as before that she was always eager to learn new things, figure out how things worked, and find solutions for problems. These joys all became even better if she was able to use technology in any form. Diana credits FIRST for fully getting this interest started, as they were able to teach her the basics ranging from the different types of sensors and even how to code with blocks. With this foundation, learning the key principals of engineering she had a head start at her first FIRST journey. As she got older, Diana joined the FIRST Tech Challenge team, and on the way, she learned all about gear ratios, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), critical thinking, and decision matrices just to name a few. This institutional knowledge coupled with Diana’s innovative nature allowed her to build anything she set her mind to. For her robots, she used a rack and pinion kit to build a linear claw and used 80/20 to configure the launcher. As a competitor, Diana leads her team as one of the co-captains, the Spider Bytes, a team that she founded. She is currently their hardware designer and developer, which means that she takes the lead in the building of workflows, leading the design review presentations and leading the judges’ presentations. What Diana takes away the most is that engineering really pushed her to find innovative ways to make something out of the materials around her. With years of experience already in engineering, Diana was able to secure a mechanical design internship at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which was her first time seeing everything she learned from FIRST competitions in a professional setting.
Diana not only seeks out other opportunities in STEM but her professional opinion is sought out as well. She was asked to be a judge inspecting world-class robots at the Maryland Tech Invitational and was asked to teach younger students Basic CAD and Basic Building. The students really took the Diana and her teaching style. The students kept finding more CAD projects to do and continue to reach out to her for her guidance. While Diana enjoyed teaching these basics to local students, she hopes to one day to go back to Peru to teach those skills to the students there.
Due to her years as part of the FIRST family, she was asked to be an ambassador for them where she is tasked with writing articles on their behalf and creating demonstrations for some of their events such as the Girl Power expo at Johns Hopkins University. Her involvement in the robotics world has opened doors for Diana. She is now involved in the United Nations through their UNA USA capital chapter with their Week of Action where they come up with Sustainable development goals, equality and inclusion projects.
Next year, Diana will be attending Harvard College, Princeton University, or Duke University to major in mechanical engineering and minoring in biomedical engineering.
High School: Mount Hebron High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
A chance encounter with the FIRST Lego League Program at a Girl Scouts event was what ignited Diana’s passion for engineering. This suited her well, as before that she was always eager to learn new things, figure out how things worked, and find solutions for problems. These joys all became even better if she was able to use technology in any form. Diana credits FIRST for fully getting this interest started, as they were able to teach her the basics ranging from the different types of sensors and even how to code with blocks. With this foundation, learning the key principals of engineering she had a head start at her first FIRST journey. As she got older, Diana joined the FIRST Tech Challenge team, and on the way, she learned all about gear ratios, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), critical thinking, and decision matrices just to name a few. This institutional knowledge coupled with Diana’s innovative nature allowed her to build anything she set her mind to. For her robots, she used a rack and pinion kit to build a linear claw and used 80/20 to configure the launcher. As a competitor, Diana leads her team as one of the co-captains, the Spider Bytes, a team that she founded. She is currently their hardware designer and developer, which means that she takes the lead in the building of workflows, leading the design review presentations and leading the judges’ presentations. What Diana takes away the most is that engineering really pushed her to find innovative ways to make something out of the materials around her. With years of experience already in engineering, Diana was able to secure a mechanical design internship at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which was her first time seeing everything she learned from FIRST competitions in a professional setting.
Diana not only seeks out other opportunities in STEM but her professional opinion is sought out as well. She was asked to be a judge inspecting world-class robots at the Maryland Tech Invitational and was asked to teach younger students Basic CAD and Basic Building. The students really took the Diana and her teaching style. The students kept finding more CAD projects to do and continue to reach out to her for her guidance. While Diana enjoyed teaching these basics to local students, she hopes to one day to go back to Peru to teach those skills to the students there.
Due to her years as part of the FIRST family, she was asked to be an ambassador for them where she is tasked with writing articles on their behalf and creating demonstrations for some of their events such as the Girl Power expo at Johns Hopkins University. Her involvement in the robotics world has opened doors for Diana. She is now involved in the United Nations through their UNA USA capital chapter with their Week of Action where they come up with Sustainable development goals, equality and inclusion projects.
Next year, Diana will be attending Harvard College, Princeton University, or Duke University to major in mechanical engineering and minoring in biomedical engineering.
BRONZE - Matthew Lowe
Hometown: Plainfield, NJ
High School: Saint Tomas Aquinas High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
A future career path in engineering was realized once Matthew’s older brother, who was studying mechanical engineering at the time, let him know that engineering was an integral part of roller coasters. With this fascination, he began designing his own roller coasters and amusement park online. He made sure to include everything that an amusement park entails, roller coasters, Ferris wheels and other crazy thrill rides that he could come up with. In total, this project took over 50 hours and to this day, Matthew still goes back to the site and looks at his designs fondly. Once in high school, Matthew began taking engineering courses and any class, which would allow for him to better understand the construction and design process. In the tenth grade, he took an Introduction to engineering class where he learned computer assisted design (CAD), which he enjoyed as he got to model objects and machines on the computer. In his Engineering: Principles and Design course, which taught Matthew all of the ins and outs on what it takes to be an engineer. For a class project he even got to model a 3D airport, which he really enjoyed. Matthew choosing to take the challenging engineering elective this year made his high school counselor proud, as many of his peers choose easy electives to ensure an easy “A”, but not Matthew. Even though the engineering course is rigorous, it will make him just one step closer to his goals to major in mechanical engineering and minor in electrical. Besides the engineering courses, Matthew has taken many advanced math courses. Classes ranging from AP Physics C, Mechanics, AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB, and AP Statistics all will give Matthew a solid mathematical base for when he starts school in the fall. In school, Matthew is very involved, and he takes his academics very seriously. He has made honor roll every year and is a member of the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Science Honor Society. He is a 4x Track Athlete and has been asked to be a student ambassador where he is responsible for leading various recruitment activities and speak at open houses.
One of the aspects that Matthew looks forward to about his future engineering career is to be able to help make the STEM field more representative of the US’s population. As someone who was able to grow up with a family of engineers, he hopes to continue the tradition of his older brother, cousin and an uncle who all study and work as engineers. Having role models in these fields can influence the careers of the younger generation and start a tradition. In his Peruvian family, traditions are important, so while they may no longer live there, his family still honors and celebrate their Peruvian heritage. This can take the form of the panettone and hot chocolate at midnight on Christmas Eve and their participation in their local Procesión El Señor de los Milagros every October. Lastly, Matthew has a go-getter attitude, which can be seen in challenging coursework, and extracurriculars but even in the three small businesses that he has created. These range from landscaping, video editing, and sound production for gaming systems.
Next year, Matthew will be attending Vanderbilt University, Clemson University, or Texas A&M University.
High School: Saint Tomas Aquinas High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
A future career path in engineering was realized once Matthew’s older brother, who was studying mechanical engineering at the time, let him know that engineering was an integral part of roller coasters. With this fascination, he began designing his own roller coasters and amusement park online. He made sure to include everything that an amusement park entails, roller coasters, Ferris wheels and other crazy thrill rides that he could come up with. In total, this project took over 50 hours and to this day, Matthew still goes back to the site and looks at his designs fondly. Once in high school, Matthew began taking engineering courses and any class, which would allow for him to better understand the construction and design process. In the tenth grade, he took an Introduction to engineering class where he learned computer assisted design (CAD), which he enjoyed as he got to model objects and machines on the computer. In his Engineering: Principles and Design course, which taught Matthew all of the ins and outs on what it takes to be an engineer. For a class project he even got to model a 3D airport, which he really enjoyed. Matthew choosing to take the challenging engineering elective this year made his high school counselor proud, as many of his peers choose easy electives to ensure an easy “A”, but not Matthew. Even though the engineering course is rigorous, it will make him just one step closer to his goals to major in mechanical engineering and minor in electrical. Besides the engineering courses, Matthew has taken many advanced math courses. Classes ranging from AP Physics C, Mechanics, AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB, and AP Statistics all will give Matthew a solid mathematical base for when he starts school in the fall. In school, Matthew is very involved, and he takes his academics very seriously. He has made honor roll every year and is a member of the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Science Honor Society. He is a 4x Track Athlete and has been asked to be a student ambassador where he is responsible for leading various recruitment activities and speak at open houses.
One of the aspects that Matthew looks forward to about his future engineering career is to be able to help make the STEM field more representative of the US’s population. As someone who was able to grow up with a family of engineers, he hopes to continue the tradition of his older brother, cousin and an uncle who all study and work as engineers. Having role models in these fields can influence the careers of the younger generation and start a tradition. In his Peruvian family, traditions are important, so while they may no longer live there, his family still honors and celebrate their Peruvian heritage. This can take the form of the panettone and hot chocolate at midnight on Christmas Eve and their participation in their local Procesión El Señor de los Milagros every October. Lastly, Matthew has a go-getter attitude, which can be seen in challenging coursework, and extracurriculars but even in the three small businesses that he has created. These range from landscaping, video editing, and sound production for gaming systems.
Next year, Matthew will be attending Vanderbilt University, Clemson University, or Texas A&M University.
Healthcare & Science
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Jeprika Rodriguez
Hometown: Clifton, NJ
High School: Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Neuroscience has long been an interest for Jeprika, after she unfortunately had to see her grandmother’s experience with Alzheimer’s firsthand. While terrible to witness, it contributed and fueled her curiosity on how humans run on these microscopic connections. Today, Jeprika is on the Biomedical Track at Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy and does neuroscience research at the Spatial Development Lab at Montclair University. Under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Jennifer Yang, she learned that every minor discovery contributes to not only knowledge on the subject but the future of treatment development. The impact of Jeprika’s work means that it is imperative to communicate her findings as it could take research on a completely different path. Her grandmother’ diagnosis, was not the only catalyst for Jeprika’s strides in healthcare. Her younger cousin’s diagnosis with type 1 diabetes sparked her group’s design of Chewsulin, which would be an alternative method for diabetics to receive insulin. In lieu of injections, diabetics could get the right dosage through insulin infused chewing gum. Thanks to effective collaboration with subject matter experts such as Sofia Yang from Novo Nordisk, whose feedback they were able to incorporate to perfect their presentation, Jeprika and her team was able to present their idea at her local 2022 STEAM Tank Challenge and advanced to the New Jersey state finals. Although they did not place, they were awarded the entrepreneurship and JEDI awards, cementing Jeprika’s desire to put herself in other people’s shoes healthcare wise to find innovative healthcare solutions.
Growing up in a low-income household has shaped Jeprika’s views on healthcare. For her AP Seminar and Individual Research Report, she tackled the issue of how sociocultural factors influence healthcare disparities. Her report touched on how underrepresented groups, such as Hispanics and those of lower socio-economic status, often face medical discrepancies due to institutional bias of healthcare. Her solution and research have shown that to address this, we need more representative physicians with more understanding of cultural backgrounds. This representation would ensure that patients are able to better communicate their ailments and be understood and better understand their treatment and diagnosis.
Jeprika has made honor roll during every single one of her tri-semesters, and is ranked top 3% of her class. She has already taken numerous necessary courses in preparation of her future career plans, including AP Biology, Human Body Systems, Biomedical innovations, AP Environmental, and AP Chemistry. She will attend Rutgers University - Newark, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, having applied to both of their seven-year physician scientist programs, or Northeastern University in the fall to dual major in Neuroscience and Neurobiology.
High School: Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Neuroscience has long been an interest for Jeprika, after she unfortunately had to see her grandmother’s experience with Alzheimer’s firsthand. While terrible to witness, it contributed and fueled her curiosity on how humans run on these microscopic connections. Today, Jeprika is on the Biomedical Track at Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy and does neuroscience research at the Spatial Development Lab at Montclair University. Under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Jennifer Yang, she learned that every minor discovery contributes to not only knowledge on the subject but the future of treatment development. The impact of Jeprika’s work means that it is imperative to communicate her findings as it could take research on a completely different path. Her grandmother’ diagnosis, was not the only catalyst for Jeprika’s strides in healthcare. Her younger cousin’s diagnosis with type 1 diabetes sparked her group’s design of Chewsulin, which would be an alternative method for diabetics to receive insulin. In lieu of injections, diabetics could get the right dosage through insulin infused chewing gum. Thanks to effective collaboration with subject matter experts such as Sofia Yang from Novo Nordisk, whose feedback they were able to incorporate to perfect their presentation, Jeprika and her team was able to present their idea at her local 2022 STEAM Tank Challenge and advanced to the New Jersey state finals. Although they did not place, they were awarded the entrepreneurship and JEDI awards, cementing Jeprika’s desire to put herself in other people’s shoes healthcare wise to find innovative healthcare solutions.
Growing up in a low-income household has shaped Jeprika’s views on healthcare. For her AP Seminar and Individual Research Report, she tackled the issue of how sociocultural factors influence healthcare disparities. Her report touched on how underrepresented groups, such as Hispanics and those of lower socio-economic status, often face medical discrepancies due to institutional bias of healthcare. Her solution and research have shown that to address this, we need more representative physicians with more understanding of cultural backgrounds. This representation would ensure that patients are able to better communicate their ailments and be understood and better understand their treatment and diagnosis.
Jeprika has made honor roll during every single one of her tri-semesters, and is ranked top 3% of her class. She has already taken numerous necessary courses in preparation of her future career plans, including AP Biology, Human Body Systems, Biomedical innovations, AP Environmental, and AP Chemistry. She will attend Rutgers University - Newark, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, having applied to both of their seven-year physician scientist programs, or Northeastern University in the fall to dual major in Neuroscience and Neurobiology.
SILVER - Kaitlyn Miranda
Hometown: Elizabeth, NJ
High School: Union County Academy for Performing Arts
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Puerto Rican
Even as a child, Kaitlyn has always been inquisitive about the human body, and soon began asking questions that outpaced her parents’ knowledge on the subject. This thirst for knowledge will suit Kaitlyn well on her journey toward becoming a physician’s assistant. In order to be proactive for this goal, Kaitlyn took it upon herself to find ways to be able to shadow PA’s. As this was during the middle of COVID-19, Kaitlyn shadowed virtually where she got to connect with them via zoom and learn more about their specialties and work on case studies. After her shadowing experience, she became the Research Program Director for Medical Wonders; her role consisting of analyzing research medical papers. During her junior year, Kaitlyn was invited to the International Leadership Conference in Nashville, there Kaitlyn utilized all the conference offered in learning more about healthcare, networking with like-minded individuals, and access to and the ability to experiment with new technology.
Besides the hands-on experience in the medical field that Kaitlyn already has, she has also joined numerous clubs to increase her knowledge on the subject. Since a sophomore, she has been a member of her school’s Health Occupation Students of America. The club has competitive events that people can sign up for in numerous subjects. Despite some initial fear, she chose to compete in the behavioral health event. Wanting to do her best, Kaitlyn immediately began studying and for the next few months she always had her textbook and her flashcards on her, as she was willing to put in the long hours and sacrifice in order to do well. Her hard work paid off as she was announced the first-place winner in the Northern New Jersey Event and placed second in the state event. This win was the confidence Kaitlyn needed in confirming that a career in healthcare was right for her. With the confidence from the previous win, Kaitlyn entered the OSHA competition where she placed 2nd internationally. Being recognized in front of the podium in a room full of peers and medical professionals where she was being honored for her work is still Kaitlyn’s proudest moment in her life so far.
Kaitlyn already has several ideas on how the healthcare system in the United States can be more equitable to all of its people. Hispanics have the highest rates of uninsured status, and she has seen firsthand the stress that it causes. She has seen family members consider no longer getting cancer treatment due to the financial strain or the inability to have clear communication caused by the language barrier. To combat this, Kaitlyn would like to create awareness programs and raise money for free clinics in the underserved communities. With another barrier being communication, Kaitlyn would push for a requirement for more bilingual healthcare providers.
This talented Colombiana/Boricua will major in Health Sciences on a Pre-physician Assistant track at Quinnipiac University, Boston University, or Hofstra University.
High School: Union County Academy for Performing Arts
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Puerto Rican
Even as a child, Kaitlyn has always been inquisitive about the human body, and soon began asking questions that outpaced her parents’ knowledge on the subject. This thirst for knowledge will suit Kaitlyn well on her journey toward becoming a physician’s assistant. In order to be proactive for this goal, Kaitlyn took it upon herself to find ways to be able to shadow PA’s. As this was during the middle of COVID-19, Kaitlyn shadowed virtually where she got to connect with them via zoom and learn more about their specialties and work on case studies. After her shadowing experience, she became the Research Program Director for Medical Wonders; her role consisting of analyzing research medical papers. During her junior year, Kaitlyn was invited to the International Leadership Conference in Nashville, there Kaitlyn utilized all the conference offered in learning more about healthcare, networking with like-minded individuals, and access to and the ability to experiment with new technology.
Besides the hands-on experience in the medical field that Kaitlyn already has, she has also joined numerous clubs to increase her knowledge on the subject. Since a sophomore, she has been a member of her school’s Health Occupation Students of America. The club has competitive events that people can sign up for in numerous subjects. Despite some initial fear, she chose to compete in the behavioral health event. Wanting to do her best, Kaitlyn immediately began studying and for the next few months she always had her textbook and her flashcards on her, as she was willing to put in the long hours and sacrifice in order to do well. Her hard work paid off as she was announced the first-place winner in the Northern New Jersey Event and placed second in the state event. This win was the confidence Kaitlyn needed in confirming that a career in healthcare was right for her. With the confidence from the previous win, Kaitlyn entered the OSHA competition where she placed 2nd internationally. Being recognized in front of the podium in a room full of peers and medical professionals where she was being honored for her work is still Kaitlyn’s proudest moment in her life so far.
Kaitlyn already has several ideas on how the healthcare system in the United States can be more equitable to all of its people. Hispanics have the highest rates of uninsured status, and she has seen firsthand the stress that it causes. She has seen family members consider no longer getting cancer treatment due to the financial strain or the inability to have clear communication caused by the language barrier. To combat this, Kaitlyn would like to create awareness programs and raise money for free clinics in the underserved communities. With another barrier being communication, Kaitlyn would push for a requirement for more bilingual healthcare providers.
This talented Colombiana/Boricua will major in Health Sciences on a Pre-physician Assistant track at Quinnipiac University, Boston University, or Hofstra University.
BRONZE - Kyla Phillips
Hometown: Washington, DC
High School: Bullis School
Hispanic Heritage: Panamanian
Further proving the importance of representation, Kyla wanted to become a doctor because of her favorite show, Doc McStuffins, who’s main character looks like her, a proud Panamanian. In fact, this show helped ease some of the nerves Kyla faced when she was in and out of the hospital when she was younger. She would take comfort in the familiar sight of scrubs and masks the doctors and nurses would wear as well as from the familiar sound the paper on the examination table would make as she would move around. Her experience with healthcare early on made Kyla want to dedicate her life to medicine. Now, with a clean bill of health for the past few years, Kyla is back in the hospital but instead of a patient she has held various medical positions. Over the summer, Kyla participates in the Leadership Initiatives Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship through Georgetown University. This one-of-a-kind program partners with the Nagari Medical Clinic and Maternity Ward in Nigeria who serves a population that is unable to afford healthcare. In the program, Kyla was able to work with leading medical professional from all around the world. After researching the four most pressing concerns for the area to include: malaria, typhoid fever, nutritional anemia, and acute respiratory infections; Kayla was tasked with the important helping with diagnose the patients through telemedicine appointments. Besides assisting with the diagnosis of patients, Kayla creates and provides educational materials to be distributed to local doctors in aims to reduce the death rate for these illnesses in Nigeria.
Other programs in healthcare that Kayla has taken a part of are the National Student Leadership Conference organization there she learned the basics of the pharmaceutical industry, and two weeks in the Dominican Republic through the Global Leadership Adventures promoting the benefits of healthy living. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kayla has been active in various vaccination clinics. Now that she is back at school, she has been interning at her school shadowing the school athletic trainers. Here she has been learning the basics of sports medicine and has been available for all of her school’s fall teams to tape a sprained ankle, or wrap a knee, elbow or finger to prevent injury.
Kayla has been a spokesperson and model for BELLA Magazine in collaboration with the clothing brand Boy Meets Girl, which is a contemporary clothing company, and Pink Cans 4 Cancer. In addition, she is proud to be an Afro-Latina and a school record holder in numerous swimming events at her high school. In addition to her school team, she has been a member of the Nation’s Capital Elite Swim Club since the 4th grade that is through American University. Kyla is combating the stereotypes of what a swimmer looks like and has started her own small business teaching local black youth how to swim. Lastly, she is the secretary of Jack and Jill Of America, which tackles difficult conversations on race.
Next year she will study Public and Global Health at Brown University, Duke University, or Spelman College.
High School: Bullis School
Hispanic Heritage: Panamanian
Further proving the importance of representation, Kyla wanted to become a doctor because of her favorite show, Doc McStuffins, who’s main character looks like her, a proud Panamanian. In fact, this show helped ease some of the nerves Kyla faced when she was in and out of the hospital when she was younger. She would take comfort in the familiar sight of scrubs and masks the doctors and nurses would wear as well as from the familiar sound the paper on the examination table would make as she would move around. Her experience with healthcare early on made Kyla want to dedicate her life to medicine. Now, with a clean bill of health for the past few years, Kyla is back in the hospital but instead of a patient she has held various medical positions. Over the summer, Kyla participates in the Leadership Initiatives Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship through Georgetown University. This one-of-a-kind program partners with the Nagari Medical Clinic and Maternity Ward in Nigeria who serves a population that is unable to afford healthcare. In the program, Kyla was able to work with leading medical professional from all around the world. After researching the four most pressing concerns for the area to include: malaria, typhoid fever, nutritional anemia, and acute respiratory infections; Kayla was tasked with the important helping with diagnose the patients through telemedicine appointments. Besides assisting with the diagnosis of patients, Kayla creates and provides educational materials to be distributed to local doctors in aims to reduce the death rate for these illnesses in Nigeria.
Other programs in healthcare that Kayla has taken a part of are the National Student Leadership Conference organization there she learned the basics of the pharmaceutical industry, and two weeks in the Dominican Republic through the Global Leadership Adventures promoting the benefits of healthy living. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kayla has been active in various vaccination clinics. Now that she is back at school, she has been interning at her school shadowing the school athletic trainers. Here she has been learning the basics of sports medicine and has been available for all of her school’s fall teams to tape a sprained ankle, or wrap a knee, elbow or finger to prevent injury.
Kayla has been a spokesperson and model for BELLA Magazine in collaboration with the clothing brand Boy Meets Girl, which is a contemporary clothing company, and Pink Cans 4 Cancer. In addition, she is proud to be an Afro-Latina and a school record holder in numerous swimming events at her high school. In addition to her school team, she has been a member of the Nation’s Capital Elite Swim Club since the 4th grade that is through American University. Kyla is combating the stereotypes of what a swimmer looks like and has started her own small business teaching local black youth how to swim. Lastly, she is the secretary of Jack and Jill Of America, which tackles difficult conversations on race.
Next year she will study Public and Global Health at Brown University, Duke University, or Spelman College.
Media & Entertainment
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Maia Nehme
Hometown: Washington, DC
High School: Washington International School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Maia has been a part of numerous newspaper teams since the sixth grade. Since then, she has written well over thirty articles and even had seven of her stories prominently featured on the front page of her school papers. Her dedication to journalism has earned her the spot of editor-in-chief for her high school, which includes leading their weekly meetings, editing all stories, designing and copy-editing their quarterly print issues utilizing Adobe In Design and promoting the publication through social media. Outside of school, she is part of Teen Lenses, a teen-run news platform, which boasts in impressive readership of 40,000. Besides writing pieces on cultural criticism and other feature stories, as the executive editor, she is responsible for editing six additional articles a week, and hosting and editing the Teen Talk podcast, as well as designing their monthly newsletters. Maia’s third editor-in-chief position is at Hillandale Happenings, a neighborhood newspaper, which she founded, that fills the gaps in local news coverage. The paper will give reports on community issues, highlights the art and writing of neighborhood children and often times has her coordination with local journalists, and designing the monthly editions. This project has an impressive 500-a-month readership. Maia even had the opportunity to intern last summer as the editorial intern for UC Berkeley’s award-winning alumni magazine, California Magazine. There she wrote four feature stories for the Fall 2022 print magazine, produced episodes of The Edge podcast, copy-edited and fact-checked articles prior to publication for their readership of over 95,000. Maia did not feel out of place despite being the first high school intern they have accepted in over a decade and her peers all being graduate students. The magazine was so impressed with her work and dedication that she was invited by the executive editor to intern again this summer.
In her work in journalism, Maia is not afraid to highlight issues that are hard to hear about. When repeated instances of sexual assault were being reported to school administrators Maia began an investigative piece on the matter that would amplify the voices of the assault victims. After legal concerns with the school, Maia reached a compromise where the article would now include proposed revisions to the sexual education curriculum to address the off-campus assaults rather than the specific instances themselves. However, Maia was adamant that the testimonies of the individuals still had to be included. The article saw open discussions on how to address this serious issue instead of pretending these were isolated incidents and sweeping them under the rug.
This IB student, has won The New York Times’ June Vocabulary Challenge, is a two-time journalism honorable mentions from the Scholastic Writing Awards, won a Community, Equity and Justice Award, is a Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Scholar, and was invited to the competitive journalism summer program Medill Cherub.
She will be studying journalism and gender studies at Yale University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; or the University of Maryland, College Park next year.
High School: Washington International School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Maia has been a part of numerous newspaper teams since the sixth grade. Since then, she has written well over thirty articles and even had seven of her stories prominently featured on the front page of her school papers. Her dedication to journalism has earned her the spot of editor-in-chief for her high school, which includes leading their weekly meetings, editing all stories, designing and copy-editing their quarterly print issues utilizing Adobe In Design and promoting the publication through social media. Outside of school, she is part of Teen Lenses, a teen-run news platform, which boasts in impressive readership of 40,000. Besides writing pieces on cultural criticism and other feature stories, as the executive editor, she is responsible for editing six additional articles a week, and hosting and editing the Teen Talk podcast, as well as designing their monthly newsletters. Maia’s third editor-in-chief position is at Hillandale Happenings, a neighborhood newspaper, which she founded, that fills the gaps in local news coverage. The paper will give reports on community issues, highlights the art and writing of neighborhood children and often times has her coordination with local journalists, and designing the monthly editions. This project has an impressive 500-a-month readership. Maia even had the opportunity to intern last summer as the editorial intern for UC Berkeley’s award-winning alumni magazine, California Magazine. There she wrote four feature stories for the Fall 2022 print magazine, produced episodes of The Edge podcast, copy-edited and fact-checked articles prior to publication for their readership of over 95,000. Maia did not feel out of place despite being the first high school intern they have accepted in over a decade and her peers all being graduate students. The magazine was so impressed with her work and dedication that she was invited by the executive editor to intern again this summer.
In her work in journalism, Maia is not afraid to highlight issues that are hard to hear about. When repeated instances of sexual assault were being reported to school administrators Maia began an investigative piece on the matter that would amplify the voices of the assault victims. After legal concerns with the school, Maia reached a compromise where the article would now include proposed revisions to the sexual education curriculum to address the off-campus assaults rather than the specific instances themselves. However, Maia was adamant that the testimonies of the individuals still had to be included. The article saw open discussions on how to address this serious issue instead of pretending these were isolated incidents and sweeping them under the rug.
This IB student, has won The New York Times’ June Vocabulary Challenge, is a two-time journalism honorable mentions from the Scholastic Writing Awards, won a Community, Equity and Justice Award, is a Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Scholar, and was invited to the competitive journalism summer program Medill Cherub.
She will be studying journalism and gender studies at Yale University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; or the University of Maryland, College Park next year.
SILVER - Mateo Traini
Hometown: Ashton, MD
High School: Sandy Spring Friends School
Hispanic Heritage: Bolivian
Mateo not only has a keen ear for music, but he also is an avid historian, looking into their distinct and historic timelines of the various genres of music. Whether it be the Tango (1900s), Rhumba (1930s), Mambo (1950s), Salsa (1960s), Rock Lano (1970s), Merengue (1970s-1990s), Bachata (1970s-1990s), Pop Lano (2000s), and Reggaeton (2000s-Present), Mateo knows it all. This interest was perfectly highlighted in his capstone project last year titled, The History and Influence of Latin Music in the American Music Industry. His interest was sparked by a Music Production and Audio Engineering course that he took his freshman year. Everything from the music technology to sampling had him eager to learn more. His newfound interest from the class made him eager to start making his own music. Looking back, Mateo can see that his original pieces that first year were clumsily made evidenced by the Apple Loops and the clicky drums but since then, Mateo has dedicated eight hours a week solely to making new music where he challenges himself to make a variety of music on his Logic Pro X.
In an effort, to increase music appreciation at his high school he co-started their Music Production Club. While creating a club is impressive in its own right, it’s particularly impressive when you consider the circumstances that Mateo was up against. Not only was he trying to set up a club during the peak of COVID-19 so school was virtual but was also coupled with Mateo being a transfer student. Despite all hurdles, Mateo was able to get the club on its feet. The club has been able to be a space for creative minds to collaborate, and form bonds. This club was able to connect students who were able to make music together, some of whom were able to share their music at the school talent show. To round out his music understanding, Mateo connected with Dave Cook who is the Head of Sound at the famed Kennedy Center Opera House. While he initially reached out just for the opportunity to shadow an audio engineer, he impressed Dave so much that he was offered the role of Warehouse Technician at his company FC Production. This opportunity fully immersed Mateo into the music and audio technology scene. In his day to day, he is responsible for loading and unloading equipment from the company vehicles, dismantling the audio equipment, and other tasks as they arise.
Despite being a transfer student and not having spent as much time at the school as some of his peers, Mateo has already left a mark. In addition to the Music Production, Mateo has been part of the school’s soccer team every year. He has been active in the school’s Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group and has been tutoring Spanish for those in his local community, as well as part of the National Hispanic Institute’s 2022 Collegiate World Series, which is a capstone experience for high school juniors who are preparing for their senior year with an emphasis on college readiness and leadership development.
At Northeastern University, American University, or Drexel University, Mateo will be taking classes that will get him closer to breaking into the music industry an addition to business courses.
High School: Sandy Spring Friends School
Hispanic Heritage: Bolivian
Mateo not only has a keen ear for music, but he also is an avid historian, looking into their distinct and historic timelines of the various genres of music. Whether it be the Tango (1900s), Rhumba (1930s), Mambo (1950s), Salsa (1960s), Rock Lano (1970s), Merengue (1970s-1990s), Bachata (1970s-1990s), Pop Lano (2000s), and Reggaeton (2000s-Present), Mateo knows it all. This interest was perfectly highlighted in his capstone project last year titled, The History and Influence of Latin Music in the American Music Industry. His interest was sparked by a Music Production and Audio Engineering course that he took his freshman year. Everything from the music technology to sampling had him eager to learn more. His newfound interest from the class made him eager to start making his own music. Looking back, Mateo can see that his original pieces that first year were clumsily made evidenced by the Apple Loops and the clicky drums but since then, Mateo has dedicated eight hours a week solely to making new music where he challenges himself to make a variety of music on his Logic Pro X.
In an effort, to increase music appreciation at his high school he co-started their Music Production Club. While creating a club is impressive in its own right, it’s particularly impressive when you consider the circumstances that Mateo was up against. Not only was he trying to set up a club during the peak of COVID-19 so school was virtual but was also coupled with Mateo being a transfer student. Despite all hurdles, Mateo was able to get the club on its feet. The club has been able to be a space for creative minds to collaborate, and form bonds. This club was able to connect students who were able to make music together, some of whom were able to share their music at the school talent show. To round out his music understanding, Mateo connected with Dave Cook who is the Head of Sound at the famed Kennedy Center Opera House. While he initially reached out just for the opportunity to shadow an audio engineer, he impressed Dave so much that he was offered the role of Warehouse Technician at his company FC Production. This opportunity fully immersed Mateo into the music and audio technology scene. In his day to day, he is responsible for loading and unloading equipment from the company vehicles, dismantling the audio equipment, and other tasks as they arise.
Despite being a transfer student and not having spent as much time at the school as some of his peers, Mateo has already left a mark. In addition to the Music Production, Mateo has been part of the school’s soccer team every year. He has been active in the school’s Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group and has been tutoring Spanish for those in his local community, as well as part of the National Hispanic Institute’s 2022 Collegiate World Series, which is a capstone experience for high school juniors who are preparing for their senior year with an emphasis on college readiness and leadership development.
At Northeastern University, American University, or Drexel University, Mateo will be taking classes that will get him closer to breaking into the music industry an addition to business courses.
BRONZE - Gonzalo Martinez Ferraez
Hometown: Rockville, MD
High School: Walter Johnson High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Gonzalo has always had a knack for storytelling. When he was younger, his stories would always be told on pen and paper but as he got older, he discovered the camcorder introducing him to storytelling with film as the medium. He saw film like a puzzle of a vision that only he could put together. When not in school, his days would be filled with solving that puzzle by writing a script, shooting, acting, editing, finding the perfect song to incorporate, and costumes all needed to come together just right. So far, he has already written a collection of stories that he will be putting to film in the future. Proud of his Mexican culture and roots, Gonzalo hopes to see a rise of not only Latino directors and actors but their stories as well and he hopes to be able to fill this void in the future on the big screen. This pride can be seen in that for the past three years he has been an officer at his school’s Hispanic Heritage Club, a club created to embrace the Hispanic community. Leading their weekly meetings, Gonzalo finds ways to educate local elementary school students on Latin American traditions. One core memory was when they went to an elementary school where Gonzalo gave the background on the origin of tostados before he led an activity to make them together. He remembers how he was able to captivate the audience and how excited they were to learn and eat the tostados, with one little boy even saying that it was the “best thing I’ve had in my life”. This sentiment is exactly what Gonzalo wants people to take away, he wants to emphasize the beauty of Latino culture and clarify a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions people may have.
Gonzalo’s presence on screen, his knowledge of cultural topics, and being bilingual made him the perfect candidate for the Mexican Media Company, Eliot Media, who was trying to expand their audience in the United States. In 2020, they reached out to Gonzalo to do just that, which led to him starting Eliot Channel USA. There he was responsible for scouting, writing, editing, and narrating all the content for the channel. He would make two videos a day that would cover the trending topics on the Internet, his content and videos were so popular in just a month the channel had over 10,000 subscribers. While the format was similar to the Eliot Channel Mx’s content, his videos would be in English and regard topics important to the US audience. Those at the company were so impressed with his work Gonzalo would be invited to fill in for the main channel’s narrator whenever they were unavailable; a role that would have him in front of an audience of over 6 million. This job was no easy task, but he credits his job for ensuring he was managing his time wisely.
While Gonzalo obviously has a captivating film presence, he has been working to get more of a foundation in film. At the local community college, he has taken courses that will help in his future career such as Introduction to Film, Introduction to College Writing, Introduction to Business, and Business and Professional Speech Communication. To study Film and Television Production, Gonzalo will be attending Chapman University, the University of Southern California; or the University of California, Los Angeles next year.
High School: Walter Johnson High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Gonzalo has always had a knack for storytelling. When he was younger, his stories would always be told on pen and paper but as he got older, he discovered the camcorder introducing him to storytelling with film as the medium. He saw film like a puzzle of a vision that only he could put together. When not in school, his days would be filled with solving that puzzle by writing a script, shooting, acting, editing, finding the perfect song to incorporate, and costumes all needed to come together just right. So far, he has already written a collection of stories that he will be putting to film in the future. Proud of his Mexican culture and roots, Gonzalo hopes to see a rise of not only Latino directors and actors but their stories as well and he hopes to be able to fill this void in the future on the big screen. This pride can be seen in that for the past three years he has been an officer at his school’s Hispanic Heritage Club, a club created to embrace the Hispanic community. Leading their weekly meetings, Gonzalo finds ways to educate local elementary school students on Latin American traditions. One core memory was when they went to an elementary school where Gonzalo gave the background on the origin of tostados before he led an activity to make them together. He remembers how he was able to captivate the audience and how excited they were to learn and eat the tostados, with one little boy even saying that it was the “best thing I’ve had in my life”. This sentiment is exactly what Gonzalo wants people to take away, he wants to emphasize the beauty of Latino culture and clarify a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions people may have.
Gonzalo’s presence on screen, his knowledge of cultural topics, and being bilingual made him the perfect candidate for the Mexican Media Company, Eliot Media, who was trying to expand their audience in the United States. In 2020, they reached out to Gonzalo to do just that, which led to him starting Eliot Channel USA. There he was responsible for scouting, writing, editing, and narrating all the content for the channel. He would make two videos a day that would cover the trending topics on the Internet, his content and videos were so popular in just a month the channel had over 10,000 subscribers. While the format was similar to the Eliot Channel Mx’s content, his videos would be in English and regard topics important to the US audience. Those at the company were so impressed with his work Gonzalo would be invited to fill in for the main channel’s narrator whenever they were unavailable; a role that would have him in front of an audience of over 6 million. This job was no easy task, but he credits his job for ensuring he was managing his time wisely.
While Gonzalo obviously has a captivating film presence, he has been working to get more of a foundation in film. At the local community college, he has taken courses that will help in his future career such as Introduction to Film, Introduction to College Writing, Introduction to Business, and Business and Professional Speech Communication. To study Film and Television Production, Gonzalo will be attending Chapman University, the University of Southern California; or the University of California, Los Angeles next year.
Public Service & Social Justice
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Miguel Chiapetta
Hometown: Idlewylde, MD
High School: Towson High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Miguel’s activism stems from the outright racist comments his classmates would make. Comments and ignorant actions like pretending to deport him “across the wall”, or during his first model Congress meeting, another student saying proudly how their parents worked for ICE and how they opposed any and all forms of immigration, and even the rhetoric spouted by those in high political positions have drove him to action. To meet these priorities, Miguel has started Color of Youth- a national student-led organization whose mission is to strengthen youth commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. As the co-founder and president, they host virtual events with speakers from various professionals, including indigenous activist, and LGBTQ+ actors to share their stories and highlight diversity. From there, he was invited by the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools to create a workshop for their diversity conference, in collaboration with the Unboxing Change and She’s the B.O.S.S. Radio. Together they launched a podcast on youth empowerment and community engagement. One of the podcast guests thanked Miguel after their conversation, stating that this was the first time she ever felt her story was truly heard. In addition, Color of Youth shares the art and writing of local artists and writers of color to give them a platform or showcase not only their creativity but their perspectives. His work here, has allowed Miguel the opportunity speak and present on numerous stages and create conversations around the nation to advance the voices of young people of color.
With his internship at Unboxing Change, he was tasked with being lead facilitator of the Baltimore Student Diversity Leadership Conference, who empowers students of color. This has allowed for Miguel to put his passion for social justice in a tangible way by planning and presenting his own workshop on elevating youth voices to educators and administrators across the region. In addition, at the conference he created and led his own session on self-love as a person of color for a room packed with middle-schoolers, Being able to collaborate with others who are passionate about social justice, and in particular focusing on youth engagement was a big moment for Miguel. Lastly, he was in charge of all of the social media marketing and management for his event. His strategic marketing plan led to over 300 students attending, which is phenomenal.
Miguel is a talented writer and orator, traits that will suit him well in his future in public service and social justice. Besides his many leadership roles, to prepare for his future major in political science he has already taken AP United States Government and politics, AP US History, AP Economics, AP Statistics, AP English Language and Composition and AP Psychology all, which have laid the academic coursework he will continue next year at Yale University, Northeastern University, or Boston University.
High School: Towson High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Miguel’s activism stems from the outright racist comments his classmates would make. Comments and ignorant actions like pretending to deport him “across the wall”, or during his first model Congress meeting, another student saying proudly how their parents worked for ICE and how they opposed any and all forms of immigration, and even the rhetoric spouted by those in high political positions have drove him to action. To meet these priorities, Miguel has started Color of Youth- a national student-led organization whose mission is to strengthen youth commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. As the co-founder and president, they host virtual events with speakers from various professionals, including indigenous activist, and LGBTQ+ actors to share their stories and highlight diversity. From there, he was invited by the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools to create a workshop for their diversity conference, in collaboration with the Unboxing Change and She’s the B.O.S.S. Radio. Together they launched a podcast on youth empowerment and community engagement. One of the podcast guests thanked Miguel after their conversation, stating that this was the first time she ever felt her story was truly heard. In addition, Color of Youth shares the art and writing of local artists and writers of color to give them a platform or showcase not only their creativity but their perspectives. His work here, has allowed Miguel the opportunity speak and present on numerous stages and create conversations around the nation to advance the voices of young people of color.
With his internship at Unboxing Change, he was tasked with being lead facilitator of the Baltimore Student Diversity Leadership Conference, who empowers students of color. This has allowed for Miguel to put his passion for social justice in a tangible way by planning and presenting his own workshop on elevating youth voices to educators and administrators across the region. In addition, at the conference he created and led his own session on self-love as a person of color for a room packed with middle-schoolers, Being able to collaborate with others who are passionate about social justice, and in particular focusing on youth engagement was a big moment for Miguel. Lastly, he was in charge of all of the social media marketing and management for his event. His strategic marketing plan led to over 300 students attending, which is phenomenal.
Miguel is a talented writer and orator, traits that will suit him well in his future in public service and social justice. Besides his many leadership roles, to prepare for his future major in political science he has already taken AP United States Government and politics, AP US History, AP Economics, AP Statistics, AP English Language and Composition and AP Psychology all, which have laid the academic coursework he will continue next year at Yale University, Northeastern University, or Boston University.
SILVER - Claudia Merchan
Hometown: Hackensack, NJ
High School: Bergen County Technical High School
Hispanic Heritage: Ecuadoran
Claudia grew up and was raised with the most resilient and hardworking individuals, and due to their immigration status had to overcome obstacles such as racism, discrimination, and abuse and yet still wanted to call this country their home. Getting a front row seat for these struggles is what started her passion for social justice. Her work specifically so far, has made a tremendous impact in her own community. In her magnet high school, it was no surprise to those who know Claudia that she chose the Law & Justice track. She is already well versed in subjects such as Public Policy, Sociology, and AP Government & Politics, AP US History, Law and Justice and Constitutional Law thanks to having already taking those classes. This led her to creating her own club specifically for providing opportunities for immigrants in their county. This year the club is expanding, and they will begin tutoring and giving English lessons for those eager to learn. Claudia is also part of CHCI and was invited to be part of their R2L NextGen Program, and gave her the chance to come to Washington, DC and explore the capital. While she roamed the halls, she could see herself breaking systemic barriers and making a difference, specifically immigration reform.
Claudia has been volunteering as an online tutor at Achillea Peer Tutoring, which services those in the foster care system. There she learned the hard truth of the realities of the foster care system and knew she needed to do something. This led to her and a classmate’s passion project of ensuring that those in foster care had basic hygiene and other necessities. They began reaching out to local companies and secured backpacks for the students, then through their own fundraising were able to secure hundreds of dollars, which went to filling the backpacks with supplies such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and a coloring book. Working with social workers ensured that the backpacks were distributed so that every current foster care student received one. A few days after this hardworking duo, received a video of the students receiving the backpacks and saw first-hand the gratitude on their faces.
As a proud Ecuadorian, the rights of Latinos are important to Claudia and led to her volunteering at Latino Action Foundation last year. This grass roots organization addresses the integration needs of the African American and Latino communities. A recent issue they tackled was school segregation in New Jersey. With the organization, Claudia helps plan meetings and recruit as they plan to testify in court on the issue and the impact of segregated schools.
After high school, Claudia plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Hamilton College, or Washington and Lee University and study political science and Latinx studies.
High School: Bergen County Technical High School
Hispanic Heritage: Ecuadoran
Claudia grew up and was raised with the most resilient and hardworking individuals, and due to their immigration status had to overcome obstacles such as racism, discrimination, and abuse and yet still wanted to call this country their home. Getting a front row seat for these struggles is what started her passion for social justice. Her work specifically so far, has made a tremendous impact in her own community. In her magnet high school, it was no surprise to those who know Claudia that she chose the Law & Justice track. She is already well versed in subjects such as Public Policy, Sociology, and AP Government & Politics, AP US History, Law and Justice and Constitutional Law thanks to having already taking those classes. This led her to creating her own club specifically for providing opportunities for immigrants in their county. This year the club is expanding, and they will begin tutoring and giving English lessons for those eager to learn. Claudia is also part of CHCI and was invited to be part of their R2L NextGen Program, and gave her the chance to come to Washington, DC and explore the capital. While she roamed the halls, she could see herself breaking systemic barriers and making a difference, specifically immigration reform.
Claudia has been volunteering as an online tutor at Achillea Peer Tutoring, which services those in the foster care system. There she learned the hard truth of the realities of the foster care system and knew she needed to do something. This led to her and a classmate’s passion project of ensuring that those in foster care had basic hygiene and other necessities. They began reaching out to local companies and secured backpacks for the students, then through their own fundraising were able to secure hundreds of dollars, which went to filling the backpacks with supplies such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and a coloring book. Working with social workers ensured that the backpacks were distributed so that every current foster care student received one. A few days after this hardworking duo, received a video of the students receiving the backpacks and saw first-hand the gratitude on their faces.
As a proud Ecuadorian, the rights of Latinos are important to Claudia and led to her volunteering at Latino Action Foundation last year. This grass roots organization addresses the integration needs of the African American and Latino communities. A recent issue they tackled was school segregation in New Jersey. With the organization, Claudia helps plan meetings and recruit as they plan to testify in court on the issue and the impact of segregated schools.
After high school, Claudia plans to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Hamilton College, or Washington and Lee University and study political science and Latinx studies.
BRONZE - Paula Garcia Monagas
Hometown: Potomac, MD
High School: Winston Churchill High School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican & Spanish
Women’s rights and female empowerment has been a focal point, in Paula’s Monaga’s life so far. This topic interests her, and she has done research on gender theory exploring the status and rights of women in various countries such as Japan and Iran. In her work, she saw just how underrepresented women are in politics. While those statistics saddened her, it lit a fire under her, and she jumped into action. She began interning at the Brooke Lierman campaign. Lierman is the first woman to serve as Comptroller in Maryland. The work was particularly meaningful as she got to see first-hand the impact and empowerment that local female leadership has on communities. There she also got to learn more about the accomplishments of some other political women like Sarah Elfreth who is a Senator. From there, Paula became passionate about other social justice issues, often taking a female empowerment lens. At her high school, she is the secretary of the Period club, which focuses on ending period poverty through service. As secretary, Paula helps lead their meetings, and has organized pad and tampon drives.
While Paula is a supporter for women’s rights, she also advocates for other groups. Part of Paula’s drive to serve and help others could stem from how she was made to feel when she first came to the United States. As she was learning a new language and new curriculum in that new language, she was made to feel self-conscious about her own intelligence. She did not feel supported at school, and now does not want others to experience what she did whether it be at school, in their communities, or even their own countries. With that in mind, she became the Director of Education and Programs for an organization called Queer on Campus where she is responsible for developing the online educational resources and planning their events like various GSA meet-ups. She has created a transgender student survey, which got over 50 responses and they are using that data collected to better serve those students. Another club that Paula leads is the UNICEF club chapter, which she helped establish over three years ago. In this club she was elected to be their secretary and takes charge in proposing creative ideas for their meeting agenda, planning and coordinating their events such as fundraisers, making all of their social media posts, and most importantly advocating and spreading awareness for children in need worldwide. By ensuring that other students are educated on pressing international situations they raise awareness on what is happening in places such as Afghanistan and Ukraine and on issues like human trafficking.
Outside of school, Paula is a member of a Youth Board called CCI Wellness Board, which allows youth to play an active role and be a voice for how Montgomery County can improve their health care. The board meets weekly where they discuss how to spread awareness for issues such as HIV/AIDS. In addition, she also tutors at Shepherd Pratt, which provides educational resources to low-income students, which comes full-circle for Paula as she is now the one helping those whose English is their second language.
Paula will be studying political science and international relations next year at Wellesley College, the University of Maryland, or the College of William & Mary.
High School: Winston Churchill High School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican & Spanish
Women’s rights and female empowerment has been a focal point, in Paula’s Monaga’s life so far. This topic interests her, and she has done research on gender theory exploring the status and rights of women in various countries such as Japan and Iran. In her work, she saw just how underrepresented women are in politics. While those statistics saddened her, it lit a fire under her, and she jumped into action. She began interning at the Brooke Lierman campaign. Lierman is the first woman to serve as Comptroller in Maryland. The work was particularly meaningful as she got to see first-hand the impact and empowerment that local female leadership has on communities. There she also got to learn more about the accomplishments of some other political women like Sarah Elfreth who is a Senator. From there, Paula became passionate about other social justice issues, often taking a female empowerment lens. At her high school, she is the secretary of the Period club, which focuses on ending period poverty through service. As secretary, Paula helps lead their meetings, and has organized pad and tampon drives.
While Paula is a supporter for women’s rights, she also advocates for other groups. Part of Paula’s drive to serve and help others could stem from how she was made to feel when she first came to the United States. As she was learning a new language and new curriculum in that new language, she was made to feel self-conscious about her own intelligence. She did not feel supported at school, and now does not want others to experience what she did whether it be at school, in their communities, or even their own countries. With that in mind, she became the Director of Education and Programs for an organization called Queer on Campus where she is responsible for developing the online educational resources and planning their events like various GSA meet-ups. She has created a transgender student survey, which got over 50 responses and they are using that data collected to better serve those students. Another club that Paula leads is the UNICEF club chapter, which she helped establish over three years ago. In this club she was elected to be their secretary and takes charge in proposing creative ideas for their meeting agenda, planning and coordinating their events such as fundraisers, making all of their social media posts, and most importantly advocating and spreading awareness for children in need worldwide. By ensuring that other students are educated on pressing international situations they raise awareness on what is happening in places such as Afghanistan and Ukraine and on issues like human trafficking.
Outside of school, Paula is a member of a Youth Board called CCI Wellness Board, which allows youth to play an active role and be a voice for how Montgomery County can improve their health care. The board meets weekly where they discuss how to spread awareness for issues such as HIV/AIDS. In addition, she also tutors at Shepherd Pratt, which provides educational resources to low-income students, which comes full-circle for Paula as she is now the one helping those whose English is their second language.
Paula will be studying political science and international relations next year at Wellesley College, the University of Maryland, or the College of William & Mary.
Sports & Fitness
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Mateo Rampoldi
Hometown: McLean, VA
High School: Gonzaga College High School
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
Growing up in an Argentine household, Mateo Rampoldi was influenced to be competitive. His parents and relatives taught him a deep passion for sports and the teams they support. He always loved all sports but ever since he was introduced to ice hockey at the young age of 8, he was hooked. He played hockey for the Capitals Academy for 6 years honing his skills with the Capitals Academy and played for his high school on the varsity level. This led him to multiple awards and championships like being awarded the Ice Hockey Offensive Player of the year award and the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League Division ‘A’ Champion. His hard work and dedication to the sport landed him to represent in Division 1 Men’s Argentine National Ice Hockey team at the LATAM Amerigol Cup. Mateo recalls that being able to represent the country his parents are from was one of his proudest achievements and an honor to represent the white and blue. While their team made the final, ultimately they fell just short of the final victory. Mateo not only competes on ice but also on the field for his school’s rugby team. They reached the Metro Area Rugby Varsity Conference final and hope to do so again this year.
Mateo brings his competitive edge to the classroom as well. He boasts a full course list of AP classes and excels in each and every one of them. His teacher noted that he stood out to her early in her Ethics class for being a stellar student. She noted that he was quiet in the classroom but his work was thorough, thoughtful, introspective, and, in a way, elegant.
Mateo’s teacher also notes that his dedication in the classroom also extends out to his community where he demonstrates a high level of social awareness. Even over the summer, the participated in a service learning seminar with the University of Chicago. He frequently volunteers his time through his school’s Campus Ministry and other local service organizations. From Golden Rule Tutoring, helping younger students with their homework, to McKenna’s Wagon, a mobile food distribution truck, Mateo always strives to live up to the Jesuit foundation of “Men for Others”.
With a perfect 4.00 GPA, Mateo has been admitted to the University of Chicago and plans to major in Business Economics with a minor in Inequality, Social Problems, and Change.
High School: Gonzaga College High School
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
Growing up in an Argentine household, Mateo Rampoldi was influenced to be competitive. His parents and relatives taught him a deep passion for sports and the teams they support. He always loved all sports but ever since he was introduced to ice hockey at the young age of 8, he was hooked. He played hockey for the Capitals Academy for 6 years honing his skills with the Capitals Academy and played for his high school on the varsity level. This led him to multiple awards and championships like being awarded the Ice Hockey Offensive Player of the year award and the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League Division ‘A’ Champion. His hard work and dedication to the sport landed him to represent in Division 1 Men’s Argentine National Ice Hockey team at the LATAM Amerigol Cup. Mateo recalls that being able to represent the country his parents are from was one of his proudest achievements and an honor to represent the white and blue. While their team made the final, ultimately they fell just short of the final victory. Mateo not only competes on ice but also on the field for his school’s rugby team. They reached the Metro Area Rugby Varsity Conference final and hope to do so again this year.
Mateo brings his competitive edge to the classroom as well. He boasts a full course list of AP classes and excels in each and every one of them. His teacher noted that he stood out to her early in her Ethics class for being a stellar student. She noted that he was quiet in the classroom but his work was thorough, thoughtful, introspective, and, in a way, elegant.
Mateo’s teacher also notes that his dedication in the classroom also extends out to his community where he demonstrates a high level of social awareness. Even over the summer, the participated in a service learning seminar with the University of Chicago. He frequently volunteers his time through his school’s Campus Ministry and other local service organizations. From Golden Rule Tutoring, helping younger students with their homework, to McKenna’s Wagon, a mobile food distribution truck, Mateo always strives to live up to the Jesuit foundation of “Men for Others”.
With a perfect 4.00 GPA, Mateo has been admitted to the University of Chicago and plans to major in Business Economics with a minor in Inequality, Social Problems, and Change.
SILVER - Isabella Lugo
Hometown: Bristow, VA
High School: Covenant Christian Academy
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Being the striker on both her high schools and the St. James U19 soccer team has taught Isabella Lugo the meaning of stamina, focus and fearlessness so that she can attack the goal and score but the ability to rely and trust on her teammates to set the team for success. This mindset makes Isabella not only a great scorer, but also an even better captain, a recognition that is bestowed on her by both teams. Isabella has been able to play with the best soccer players across DC, Maryland, and Virginia but nothing beat the opportunities that Isabella has had by playing soccer in international tournaments. One meaningful tournament was the 2019 Vildbjerg Cup, which is one of Europe’s largest youth soccer tournaments and had over 715 teams competing. Isabella was part of CCL United All-star team which was the only United States team invited to the tournament. Most excitingly was that Isabella and her team not only made it to the Championship game, but Isabella was the one who kicked off to start the game in Denmark. With this same team, Isabella was able to play in the 2021Target USA Cup in Minnesota. That same year, Isabella was selected to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Olympic Development Program East Regional Tournament. So, while Isabella’s love of soccer stems from hearing her father’s stories of playing, what means the most to her is how embedded soccer is into Hispanic culture. She feels blessed to play a sport that out of all of the coaches she has had over the years have been Hispanic, including her father, which she credits for being beneficial to her self-image and mental health. If that was not enough soccer, Isabella has been the manager for her high schools’ boys’ soccer team for the last three years and will be playing Division 1 soccer at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC in the fall of 2023.
Isabella’s cultural pride is evident in not only her love for soccer but in the organizations in which she donates her time. During her senior internship at the Samakow Law firm, where she worked over 40 hours over the summer, Isabella was tasked with supporting the Textarudo Award Ceremony, which recognizes Hispanic leaders who advocate for the prevention of texting and driving. This event was meaningful for Isabella to support due to car accidents being the leading cause of death for young Hispanics. This internship was perfect for Isabella, who strives to be the voice for the voiceless and as an advocate for Hispanics in fighting disparities between races. With some estimates of only 2% of lawyers in the United States are Latinas, Isabella wants to use her passion for law to help change that. In addition, during her junior year, Isabella was a marketing intern and was the lead on several projects. Her supervisor commending her work as continuously going above and beyond what was asked of her, and her ability to think outside the box, a skill crucial for marketing.
Isabella has a perfect 4.0 GPA and plans to major in Psychology and minor in law at Gardner-Webb University.
High School: Covenant Christian Academy
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Being the striker on both her high schools and the St. James U19 soccer team has taught Isabella Lugo the meaning of stamina, focus and fearlessness so that she can attack the goal and score but the ability to rely and trust on her teammates to set the team for success. This mindset makes Isabella not only a great scorer, but also an even better captain, a recognition that is bestowed on her by both teams. Isabella has been able to play with the best soccer players across DC, Maryland, and Virginia but nothing beat the opportunities that Isabella has had by playing soccer in international tournaments. One meaningful tournament was the 2019 Vildbjerg Cup, which is one of Europe’s largest youth soccer tournaments and had over 715 teams competing. Isabella was part of CCL United All-star team which was the only United States team invited to the tournament. Most excitingly was that Isabella and her team not only made it to the Championship game, but Isabella was the one who kicked off to start the game in Denmark. With this same team, Isabella was able to play in the 2021Target USA Cup in Minnesota. That same year, Isabella was selected to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Olympic Development Program East Regional Tournament. So, while Isabella’s love of soccer stems from hearing her father’s stories of playing, what means the most to her is how embedded soccer is into Hispanic culture. She feels blessed to play a sport that out of all of the coaches she has had over the years have been Hispanic, including her father, which she credits for being beneficial to her self-image and mental health. If that was not enough soccer, Isabella has been the manager for her high schools’ boys’ soccer team for the last three years and will be playing Division 1 soccer at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC in the fall of 2023.
Isabella’s cultural pride is evident in not only her love for soccer but in the organizations in which she donates her time. During her senior internship at the Samakow Law firm, where she worked over 40 hours over the summer, Isabella was tasked with supporting the Textarudo Award Ceremony, which recognizes Hispanic leaders who advocate for the prevention of texting and driving. This event was meaningful for Isabella to support due to car accidents being the leading cause of death for young Hispanics. This internship was perfect for Isabella, who strives to be the voice for the voiceless and as an advocate for Hispanics in fighting disparities between races. With some estimates of only 2% of lawyers in the United States are Latinas, Isabella wants to use her passion for law to help change that. In addition, during her junior year, Isabella was a marketing intern and was the lead on several projects. Her supervisor commending her work as continuously going above and beyond what was asked of her, and her ability to think outside the box, a skill crucial for marketing.
Isabella has a perfect 4.0 GPA and plans to major in Psychology and minor in law at Gardner-Webb University.
BRONZE - Zuriel Jimenez
Hometown: Albrightsville, PA
High School: St. George's School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican
Zuriel’s initial interest in sports stemmed from her wanting to fit the image those in her predominately white community expected of her, so she played basketball. She worked day in and day out to fit the athletic Black Latinx prototype. Unlike how black women are portrayed in the media as indestructible, the pressure to be the best as basketball was starting to negatively impact her health. This led Zuriel to switch from playing basketball to the more independent sport of track and field during her junior year. What she was able to accomplish in one year is remarkable. Zuriel would work tirelessly to improve her strength and form, and she was able to progress significantly throughout the season. To those outside of throwing, may not think an improvement by one inch is a huge accomplishment, but in this sport, it makes a world of difference. As she began to grow stronger and master the technique, Zuriel was able to improve by four feet in shotput, which is outstanding. She was named the Independent School League Girls Field MVP, Independent School League Champion Shot Put, 2nd Place Javelin, 4th Place Discus, NEPSAC League Girls Field MVP, NEPSAC League Champion Shot Put, NEPSAC League Champion Javelin, NEPSAC League Champion Discus, All Independent School Athlete, and now holds a school record. All of these accomplishments were all from one season of track.
Self-motivation is one of Zuriel’s strongest attributes, while seen by her determination to improve in track and field it was also highlighted by her teachers. She not only consistently has the highest marks in class but if she does not feel that she has truly mastered a subject she will seek help outside of class hours until she is comfortable that she has. In the summer of 2020, Zuriel and another student took the initiative to contact the school with the ask of creating a block of time into the daily schedule to make the St. George’s Student Experience, which would be a space for student and community to discuss racial issues. For ten-weeks, Zuriel created a weekly curriculum that would not only educate students but broaden their perspectives. The material each week would include a webinar, small group discussion and cover a new topic every week such as understanding white privilege and cultural appropriation vs cultural appreciation among others. Bringing these topics to the forefront, in a space filled by her majority white and affluent peers to challenge their perspectives surely could not have been easy. She is the head of the school’s INSIGHT Club, which is a multicultural organization that aims to bring students from various backgrounds together, as well as the Latinos Unidos Club, which celebrates and brings awareness of the Latino community.
Zuriel is a student that every school would be honored to have. Besides being an exceptional student, athlete and activist, she makes sure to celebrate the wins of others. Her school counselor notes that she is the front and center at all football games and is her school’s resident makeup artist for school dances, with a line often outside her room. St. Georges knows that she will do great things next year when she attends Columbia to study psychology.
High School: St. George's School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican
Zuriel’s initial interest in sports stemmed from her wanting to fit the image those in her predominately white community expected of her, so she played basketball. She worked day in and day out to fit the athletic Black Latinx prototype. Unlike how black women are portrayed in the media as indestructible, the pressure to be the best as basketball was starting to negatively impact her health. This led Zuriel to switch from playing basketball to the more independent sport of track and field during her junior year. What she was able to accomplish in one year is remarkable. Zuriel would work tirelessly to improve her strength and form, and she was able to progress significantly throughout the season. To those outside of throwing, may not think an improvement by one inch is a huge accomplishment, but in this sport, it makes a world of difference. As she began to grow stronger and master the technique, Zuriel was able to improve by four feet in shotput, which is outstanding. She was named the Independent School League Girls Field MVP, Independent School League Champion Shot Put, 2nd Place Javelin, 4th Place Discus, NEPSAC League Girls Field MVP, NEPSAC League Champion Shot Put, NEPSAC League Champion Javelin, NEPSAC League Champion Discus, All Independent School Athlete, and now holds a school record. All of these accomplishments were all from one season of track.
Self-motivation is one of Zuriel’s strongest attributes, while seen by her determination to improve in track and field it was also highlighted by her teachers. She not only consistently has the highest marks in class but if she does not feel that she has truly mastered a subject she will seek help outside of class hours until she is comfortable that she has. In the summer of 2020, Zuriel and another student took the initiative to contact the school with the ask of creating a block of time into the daily schedule to make the St. George’s Student Experience, which would be a space for student and community to discuss racial issues. For ten-weeks, Zuriel created a weekly curriculum that would not only educate students but broaden their perspectives. The material each week would include a webinar, small group discussion and cover a new topic every week such as understanding white privilege and cultural appropriation vs cultural appreciation among others. Bringing these topics to the forefront, in a space filled by her majority white and affluent peers to challenge their perspectives surely could not have been easy. She is the head of the school’s INSIGHT Club, which is a multicultural organization that aims to bring students from various backgrounds together, as well as the Latinos Unidos Club, which celebrates and brings awareness of the Latino community.
Zuriel is a student that every school would be honored to have. Besides being an exceptional student, athlete and activist, she makes sure to celebrate the wins of others. Her school counselor notes that she is the front and center at all football games and is her school’s resident makeup artist for school dances, with a line often outside her room. St. Georges knows that she will do great things next year when she attends Columbia to study psychology.
Sustainability (Green)
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Cassia Lopez
Hometown: Pasadena, MD
High School: Northeast High School
Hispanic Heritage: Salvadoran
Growing up on the Maryland watershed gave Cassia the thirst for knowledge all of the bugs, plants, and animals that surrounded her home. At the creek behind her house, she would look for box turtles, pick up trash in the stream with long sticks, and pop jewelweeds so that their seeds would burst. With this beauty in her backyard, Cassia aimed to leave it not only untouched but better than how she found it for not only herself but for the generations after her. To further supplement this interest, Cassia joined her local Girl Scout troop where she got to spend weekends in nature on camping trips and dedicated her opportunities for service to nature. Cassia’s Bronze and Gold Girl Scout Award were for assisting either people or wildlife in need. In high school, she is in the Center of Applied Technology North’s, Environmental Resource Management Program. Some of the courses she has taken have included Zoology, Marine Biology, AP Statistics, Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry. Starting freshman year, Cassia would be in her school’s greenhouse every day where she would learn about the difficulties of hydroponic, aquaponic, and even working with animals. To ensure a sustainable life cycle, all things raised and grown in the greenhouse would be given to their partnering culinary program at the school. In addition to her club’s work providing food for their culinary school they also supplement the Caring Cupboard, which is a local food pantry that feeds struggling families in Anne Arundel County. Cassia has recently asked to be on their board. At her other high school Northeast High School, Cassia has created their Environmental Club and their National Honors Society Environmental Committee where she has begun the plans to build a vegetable and herb garden in the schools courtyard. As a member of these clubs and her leadership role, Cassia has spearheaded clean up days, making posters, and creating social media posts that are not only pleasing to look at but are informative and educate the public on sustainability issues. One of Cassia’s last projects will be creating her school’s seed library, which will allow for her classmates to take these seeds home and create their own gardens. As Cassia, is aware that home internet access is not a luxury that everyone has she has ensured that they are recipes included with the seeds to take away the financial barrier it may cause.
Under her tenure, she was integral in starting her school’s FFA chapter where she has led her team to numerous regional competitions in horticulture, and even winning second place in the NJHA FFA in National Horticulture. In addition, she has been invited to participate in various leadership conferences and passed the ERM course proficiency exam where she passed with flying colors.
With a plan to study Forest Ecosystem Sciences and a minor in Mycology, Cassia will attend George Mason University, Oregon State University, or State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
High School: Northeast High School
Hispanic Heritage: Salvadoran
Growing up on the Maryland watershed gave Cassia the thirst for knowledge all of the bugs, plants, and animals that surrounded her home. At the creek behind her house, she would look for box turtles, pick up trash in the stream with long sticks, and pop jewelweeds so that their seeds would burst. With this beauty in her backyard, Cassia aimed to leave it not only untouched but better than how she found it for not only herself but for the generations after her. To further supplement this interest, Cassia joined her local Girl Scout troop where she got to spend weekends in nature on camping trips and dedicated her opportunities for service to nature. Cassia’s Bronze and Gold Girl Scout Award were for assisting either people or wildlife in need. In high school, she is in the Center of Applied Technology North’s, Environmental Resource Management Program. Some of the courses she has taken have included Zoology, Marine Biology, AP Statistics, Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry. Starting freshman year, Cassia would be in her school’s greenhouse every day where she would learn about the difficulties of hydroponic, aquaponic, and even working with animals. To ensure a sustainable life cycle, all things raised and grown in the greenhouse would be given to their partnering culinary program at the school. In addition to her club’s work providing food for their culinary school they also supplement the Caring Cupboard, which is a local food pantry that feeds struggling families in Anne Arundel County. Cassia has recently asked to be on their board. At her other high school Northeast High School, Cassia has created their Environmental Club and their National Honors Society Environmental Committee where she has begun the plans to build a vegetable and herb garden in the schools courtyard. As a member of these clubs and her leadership role, Cassia has spearheaded clean up days, making posters, and creating social media posts that are not only pleasing to look at but are informative and educate the public on sustainability issues. One of Cassia’s last projects will be creating her school’s seed library, which will allow for her classmates to take these seeds home and create their own gardens. As Cassia, is aware that home internet access is not a luxury that everyone has she has ensured that they are recipes included with the seeds to take away the financial barrier it may cause.
Under her tenure, she was integral in starting her school’s FFA chapter where she has led her team to numerous regional competitions in horticulture, and even winning second place in the NJHA FFA in National Horticulture. In addition, she has been invited to participate in various leadership conferences and passed the ERM course proficiency exam where she passed with flying colors.
With a plan to study Forest Ecosystem Sciences and a minor in Mycology, Cassia will attend George Mason University, Oregon State University, or State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
SILVER - Camila Amaya Navarrete
Hometown: Woodbridge, VA
High School: CD Hylton Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Salvadoran
Growing up in her native El Salvador, Camila saw first-hand the effects of how lack of education about the environment could impact health. When combined with times of no running water, single-use products littering the street and, limited options for healthy food, could really take its toll. Due to routine bouts of illness growing up, Camila’s doctor told her family that her health would improve in the United States, and it did. Camila learned the hard way that the biggest polluters are in the global north but those who will be the most impacted are those in the global south. To help combat this, Camila has joined Youth Climate Action Team, which is a youth-led non-profit organization where her work with three of their seven teams has earned her the role of Climate Education Director. At her time at the organization, she has done everything from creating educational social media posts, facilitating climate change lobbying events, and in her most recent role has been leading their commitment to partnership with The White House, school districts, and other organizations in creating a holistic climate education curriculum for young leaders. As director, she also had the additional responsibility to lead the over 300 high school volunteers that they have. Her leadership and drive fosters conversation on the climate intersectionality with education to elementary and middle school students across the United States. Separately, Camila created an environmental STEM summer camp for middle-school students that would last five weeks. During the camp the students had lessons, interactive activities, guest speakers, completed projects about the environment and finished with microgrants that the students would utilize everything they had learned thus far to implement a green/sustainable solution in their town. These plans would be made possible with the help of mentors to bring their solutions to fruition. To ensure that this camp was equitable, it was done entirely through zoom. Camila’s passion for a more green and sustainable future is evident in not only the work that she has done herself but spreading the word and teaching others along the way.
Leadership opportunities are not something that Camila shy’s away from. Besides the Climate Education Director position, Camila is the President of her schools International Studies and Languages Program Executive Leadership Board and also a participant. What the CISL Program’s Director admires the most about Camila is that she is the definition of a “servant leader”. Despite her leadership role, no task is too big or beneath her and she appreciates her patience with under classmen. Camila keeps a rigorous schedule and at school, where most students graduate with either the international studies major or the languages, Camila will graduate with both. Other accolades have included being named a Hispanic Scholarship Fund YLI and Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, and has been accepted to the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, Virginia’s Residential Governors School Humanities, Latinas Leading Tomorrow Elite Academy.
She will be attending Pomona College, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia to study international relations and public policy.
High School: CD Hylton Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Salvadoran
Growing up in her native El Salvador, Camila saw first-hand the effects of how lack of education about the environment could impact health. When combined with times of no running water, single-use products littering the street and, limited options for healthy food, could really take its toll. Due to routine bouts of illness growing up, Camila’s doctor told her family that her health would improve in the United States, and it did. Camila learned the hard way that the biggest polluters are in the global north but those who will be the most impacted are those in the global south. To help combat this, Camila has joined Youth Climate Action Team, which is a youth-led non-profit organization where her work with three of their seven teams has earned her the role of Climate Education Director. At her time at the organization, she has done everything from creating educational social media posts, facilitating climate change lobbying events, and in her most recent role has been leading their commitment to partnership with The White House, school districts, and other organizations in creating a holistic climate education curriculum for young leaders. As director, she also had the additional responsibility to lead the over 300 high school volunteers that they have. Her leadership and drive fosters conversation on the climate intersectionality with education to elementary and middle school students across the United States. Separately, Camila created an environmental STEM summer camp for middle-school students that would last five weeks. During the camp the students had lessons, interactive activities, guest speakers, completed projects about the environment and finished with microgrants that the students would utilize everything they had learned thus far to implement a green/sustainable solution in their town. These plans would be made possible with the help of mentors to bring their solutions to fruition. To ensure that this camp was equitable, it was done entirely through zoom. Camila’s passion for a more green and sustainable future is evident in not only the work that she has done herself but spreading the word and teaching others along the way.
Leadership opportunities are not something that Camila shy’s away from. Besides the Climate Education Director position, Camila is the President of her schools International Studies and Languages Program Executive Leadership Board and also a participant. What the CISL Program’s Director admires the most about Camila is that she is the definition of a “servant leader”. Despite her leadership role, no task is too big or beneath her and she appreciates her patience with under classmen. Camila keeps a rigorous schedule and at school, where most students graduate with either the international studies major or the languages, Camila will graduate with both. Other accolades have included being named a Hispanic Scholarship Fund YLI and Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, and has been accepted to the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, Virginia’s Residential Governors School Humanities, Latinas Leading Tomorrow Elite Academy.
She will be attending Pomona College, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia to study international relations and public policy.
BRONZE - Emily Ruck
Hometown: Hampton, VA
High School: Kecought High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian & Trinidanian
Emily Ruck is proud of the work that she does at the Virginia Living Museum. There she is able to aid their three learning centers, which are their indoor/outdoor interpretation or the touch pool. While the various centers may differ on what they teach and the animals they protect and highlight, they all hope visitors leave with the same message of conservation and the direct impacts of human involvement. When Emily leads the groups in the outdoor interpretation, which consists of a trail walk, she shows them the two American Red Wolves they have as part of their involvement in the Federal Red Wolf Recovery captivity breeding program. This program is an effort to rehabilitate this American Red Wolf population, as they have officially been declared extinct in the wild. In addition, they get to see some of their other local animals or the tracks of such animals such otters and coyotes. At the indoor interpretation, Emily gets to share her knowledge of all the species that are native to their area of Hampton Roads. However, while the indoor/outdoor interpretations are fun to share about, her favorite is the touch pool. This small pool allows Emily to be more interactive with the visitors and show them some of the marine animals like the horseshoe crab, spider crab, sea star and others. What makes this most enjoyable since it is more interactive the kids get excited to learn more and their parents telling Emily the kids often requesting to come back.
In her daily life, Emily has been reflective on ways that she can be more sustainable. Some measures that she has implemented have been avoiding fast fashion, which often ends up in landfills as they are not made well and often made in inhumane conditions. Other methods have been avoiding online shopping, which has become increasingly common place as it often includes excessive packaging and can involve a higher rate of returns if things do not fit or do not look as depicted.
To learn more about sustainability and marine biology, Emily has taken numerous courses at her high school such as biology, and chemistry. In order to get a head start on her college courses next fall, Emily is dual-enrolled and has taken college level biology and oceanography where she earned all A’s. She hopes to attend Old Dominion University, the University of Tampa, or the College of William and Mary.
High School: Kecought High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian & Trinidanian
Emily Ruck is proud of the work that she does at the Virginia Living Museum. There she is able to aid their three learning centers, which are their indoor/outdoor interpretation or the touch pool. While the various centers may differ on what they teach and the animals they protect and highlight, they all hope visitors leave with the same message of conservation and the direct impacts of human involvement. When Emily leads the groups in the outdoor interpretation, which consists of a trail walk, she shows them the two American Red Wolves they have as part of their involvement in the Federal Red Wolf Recovery captivity breeding program. This program is an effort to rehabilitate this American Red Wolf population, as they have officially been declared extinct in the wild. In addition, they get to see some of their other local animals or the tracks of such animals such otters and coyotes. At the indoor interpretation, Emily gets to share her knowledge of all the species that are native to their area of Hampton Roads. However, while the indoor/outdoor interpretations are fun to share about, her favorite is the touch pool. This small pool allows Emily to be more interactive with the visitors and show them some of the marine animals like the horseshoe crab, spider crab, sea star and others. What makes this most enjoyable since it is more interactive the kids get excited to learn more and their parents telling Emily the kids often requesting to come back.
In her daily life, Emily has been reflective on ways that she can be more sustainable. Some measures that she has implemented have been avoiding fast fashion, which often ends up in landfills as they are not made well and often made in inhumane conditions. Other methods have been avoiding online shopping, which has become increasingly common place as it often includes excessive packaging and can involve a higher rate of returns if things do not fit or do not look as depicted.
To learn more about sustainability and marine biology, Emily has taken numerous courses at her high school such as biology, and chemistry. In order to get a head start on her college courses next fall, Emily is dual-enrolled and has taken college level biology and oceanography where she earned all A’s. She hopes to attend Old Dominion University, the University of Tampa, or the College of William and Mary.
Technology
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Sebastian Amador
Hometown: Forest, VA
High School: Jefferson Forest High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Peruvian
Sebastian has always been interested in learning new things, so when he joined Honors Computer Science as a 10th grader he was pleasantly surprised at how much he liked it. As he was taking this class virtually, students were allowed to move at their pace and Sebastian was able to progress through the course quickly. This led to his teacher asking if he was interested in taking other courses on HTML and CSS just for fun, and Sebastian was up for the challenge. Since those classes two years ago, Sebastian has been able to expand his computer science skills significantly. Last year for a research project, he created a program called Star Formation Rate Comparison Program that he created in Python that was able to analyze data about galaxies and returns the rate at, which stars form within them. From this data he was able to compare the rates within different types of galaxies such as spiral or elliptical. This project took him five months to prepare and earned him several honorable mentions in two different science fairs. Outside of school, Sebastian finds ways to utilize his newfound computer science skills. So far, he has created a modification of an open-source rhythm game and currently he is working on a web application for speedcubers, aka those who attempt to race to solve Rubik’s Cube. This interested Sebastian, as a speedcuber himself, when he realized that the older web application for the Square-1 puzzle training is no longer being maintained.
Currently, Sebastian is in AP Computer Science Principle that is taught in Python. As he has already taken other courses taught in python, and utilized it for school and outside projects he is able to move through the lessons easier. With this is mind, Sebastian often tries to stay ahead in the coursework so that he can be someone his classmates to turn to if they get stuck in their code. As a student himself, his peers have an easier time mastering the material when he is able to break it down in not only a relatable way but in a way that helps build upon their foundation and will make other course work easier to grasp. His desire to help others is seen outside of the classroom as well. To highlight the issue of food insecurity, Sebastian created an Instagram page where he will post infographics about food insecurity and volunteer with different local organizations, such as the Lynchburg Daily Bread who combat this issue. He is also a member of his school’s Key Club, Rally & Renew, and the Leo Club, which are designed to serve others. The latter of, which Sebastian is the President. Under his leadership, the club has record numbers and is therefore able to host bigger and better service events throughout the year such as their food drives and other fundraisers.
With a 4.0 GPA, Sebastian plans to go to Stanford University, the University of Virginia, or the University of Florida to study physics and computer science.
High School: Jefferson Forest High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Peruvian
Sebastian has always been interested in learning new things, so when he joined Honors Computer Science as a 10th grader he was pleasantly surprised at how much he liked it. As he was taking this class virtually, students were allowed to move at their pace and Sebastian was able to progress through the course quickly. This led to his teacher asking if he was interested in taking other courses on HTML and CSS just for fun, and Sebastian was up for the challenge. Since those classes two years ago, Sebastian has been able to expand his computer science skills significantly. Last year for a research project, he created a program called Star Formation Rate Comparison Program that he created in Python that was able to analyze data about galaxies and returns the rate at, which stars form within them. From this data he was able to compare the rates within different types of galaxies such as spiral or elliptical. This project took him five months to prepare and earned him several honorable mentions in two different science fairs. Outside of school, Sebastian finds ways to utilize his newfound computer science skills. So far, he has created a modification of an open-source rhythm game and currently he is working on a web application for speedcubers, aka those who attempt to race to solve Rubik’s Cube. This interested Sebastian, as a speedcuber himself, when he realized that the older web application for the Square-1 puzzle training is no longer being maintained.
Currently, Sebastian is in AP Computer Science Principle that is taught in Python. As he has already taken other courses taught in python, and utilized it for school and outside projects he is able to move through the lessons easier. With this is mind, Sebastian often tries to stay ahead in the coursework so that he can be someone his classmates to turn to if they get stuck in their code. As a student himself, his peers have an easier time mastering the material when he is able to break it down in not only a relatable way but in a way that helps build upon their foundation and will make other course work easier to grasp. His desire to help others is seen outside of the classroom as well. To highlight the issue of food insecurity, Sebastian created an Instagram page where he will post infographics about food insecurity and volunteer with different local organizations, such as the Lynchburg Daily Bread who combat this issue. He is also a member of his school’s Key Club, Rally & Renew, and the Leo Club, which are designed to serve others. The latter of, which Sebastian is the President. Under his leadership, the club has record numbers and is therefore able to host bigger and better service events throughout the year such as their food drives and other fundraisers.
With a 4.0 GPA, Sebastian plans to go to Stanford University, the University of Virginia, or the University of Florida to study physics and computer science.
SILVER - Max Lovell
Hometown: Georgetown, KY
High School: Great Crossing High School
Hispanic Heritage: Filipino & Spanish
While Max initially stumbled on coding as a way to just pass time in the beginning of quarantine, he lucked out in not only was he super interested in coding but that it came naturally to him. Since the initial Coding Wizards Python course three years ago, Max has taken numerous college courses to increase his technical skills, having already taken Introduction to Computers, Computational Thinking, Java 1, Statistics, and Principles of Economics, and AP Calculus. Last summer, he attended the Summer Scholars Program out of Miami University of Ohio where he was able to study the Art of Game Design under the esteemed faculty and the Computer Camp at the Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. At the later, during his week there one of the challenges given to them was designing a video game and Max was one of two students out of the 150 recognized for outstanding achievement in game design during the closing ceremony. His game of Dino Jump was made using scratch coding to periodically generate obstacles that the player needed to avoid in a side scrolling survival game. The faculty and staff were so impressed, with one even telling him that they had played for hours, feedback that all game designers would be thrilled to hear. This gives Max the confidence that even If he does not put the game on the market that he has the talent to succeed in the industry. His success in gaming already ties well into his future career goals, as Max is big into E-sports. He is the founder and captain of Great Crossing High School’s E-Sports team, and he is hoping to continue to play E-Sports in college.
While complex subjects may appear to come easy to Max, his Spanish teacher applauds his extreme dedication to learning, his ability to always give maximum effort, and that he is the most organized, intelligent and critical-thinking student she has come across. All of these traits are necessary for a student like Max who keeps his schedule jam-packed. Besides the previously mentioned E-Sports, he is in Marching and Concert band and is the bass drumline captain. He is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, on the academic team, a Scott County Teen Court Peer Juror, member of the Beta Club, an Eagle Scout, National Honor Society Member, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth member, a National Merit Commended Scholar, YMCA Young Kentuckians Advocacy Program, attended the Congressional District Youth Ambassador Program and their corresponding leadership conference, and has been recognized as a National Merit Commended Scholar, National Hispanic Recognition Program and the National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program, the last two stemming from his 35 ACT super score.
Of Filipino and Spanish descent, and a perfect 4.0 GPA, next fall he will attend Miami University, Indiana University, or the University of Evansville where he will be majoring in software engineering and minoring in computer science.
High School: Great Crossing High School
Hispanic Heritage: Filipino & Spanish
While Max initially stumbled on coding as a way to just pass time in the beginning of quarantine, he lucked out in not only was he super interested in coding but that it came naturally to him. Since the initial Coding Wizards Python course three years ago, Max has taken numerous college courses to increase his technical skills, having already taken Introduction to Computers, Computational Thinking, Java 1, Statistics, and Principles of Economics, and AP Calculus. Last summer, he attended the Summer Scholars Program out of Miami University of Ohio where he was able to study the Art of Game Design under the esteemed faculty and the Computer Camp at the Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. At the later, during his week there one of the challenges given to them was designing a video game and Max was one of two students out of the 150 recognized for outstanding achievement in game design during the closing ceremony. His game of Dino Jump was made using scratch coding to periodically generate obstacles that the player needed to avoid in a side scrolling survival game. The faculty and staff were so impressed, with one even telling him that they had played for hours, feedback that all game designers would be thrilled to hear. This gives Max the confidence that even If he does not put the game on the market that he has the talent to succeed in the industry. His success in gaming already ties well into his future career goals, as Max is big into E-sports. He is the founder and captain of Great Crossing High School’s E-Sports team, and he is hoping to continue to play E-Sports in college.
While complex subjects may appear to come easy to Max, his Spanish teacher applauds his extreme dedication to learning, his ability to always give maximum effort, and that he is the most organized, intelligent and critical-thinking student she has come across. All of these traits are necessary for a student like Max who keeps his schedule jam-packed. Besides the previously mentioned E-Sports, he is in Marching and Concert band and is the bass drumline captain. He is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, on the academic team, a Scott County Teen Court Peer Juror, member of the Beta Club, an Eagle Scout, National Honor Society Member, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth member, a National Merit Commended Scholar, YMCA Young Kentuckians Advocacy Program, attended the Congressional District Youth Ambassador Program and their corresponding leadership conference, and has been recognized as a National Merit Commended Scholar, National Hispanic Recognition Program and the National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program, the last two stemming from his 35 ACT super score.
Of Filipino and Spanish descent, and a perfect 4.0 GPA, next fall he will attend Miami University, Indiana University, or the University of Evansville where he will be majoring in software engineering and minoring in computer science.
BRONZE - Raquel Iga
Hometown: Powhatan, VA
High School: Powhatan High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
While initially placed on her Destination Imagination team because her mom was looking for activities for a young Raquel to join, it ended up changing the whole direction of her life. This global organization creates and publishes challenges for teams to compete in at the regional, state, or global level. In her first year, Raquel, and her group were able to program a raspberry pi to navigate any random maze with two unknown obstacles that it was given. This was accomplished with two motors, team-modified voltage regulators, a motor controller, 48 volts of battery power and remote control. Raquel and her team made it easily through the regional competition and state competition with a first place win and they got to compete at the global competition in Nashville, Tennessee. At the global competition they even got the opportunity to attend technology seminars and watch other teams compete, which allowed for them to start thinking of innovative solutions for the years to come. For their second year, Raquel and her team wanted to really challenge themselves. Instead of choosing the required one of the six tasks, they picked one solution that simultaneously could solve two tasks. With a motorized train so big that they had to rent a U-Haul to transport, and the creation of a skit that showed how the train could do both tasks. It was no surprise, when Raquel and her team won both the regional and state competition again and were invited to the global competition. While they did not win the overall global prize, Raquel and her team were issued the seldom-awarded and prestigious Renaissance award, which goes to, “those among us who demonstrate extraordinary amounts of effort and preparation in their solutions or outstanding skill in engineering, design or performance,” which is truly a great testament to their skill and dedication. Once in high school, Raquel was asked by her Algebra 2 teacher to take her AP Computer Science Principles class the next year and she was hooked from day 1. There they learned the basic building blocks of coding and data science, with most of their work involving Java. This year she is continuing to build upon that knowledge in AP Computer Science A.
Outside of coding and technology, Raquel has a huge heart and is often thinking about how she can make others’ lives better. Inspired by a school project where she had to come up with a business plan, Raquel created The Friendly Food Pantry, which specifically designed for people with food allergies but could not afford them due to their often-inflated costs. While she got a 100 on the assignment, Raquel was not satisfied, as she wanted to do more. She applied for Hershey’s Heartwarming Actions and received a grant, and along with setting up a food drive, and fundraiser, Raquel was able to donate tons of healthy and allergy friendly food to the local food kitchen.
This future Chemistry major and Computer Science and Data Science minor will be continuing her education at West Virginia University, Johns Hopkins University, or George Mason University next year.
High School: Powhatan High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
While initially placed on her Destination Imagination team because her mom was looking for activities for a young Raquel to join, it ended up changing the whole direction of her life. This global organization creates and publishes challenges for teams to compete in at the regional, state, or global level. In her first year, Raquel, and her group were able to program a raspberry pi to navigate any random maze with two unknown obstacles that it was given. This was accomplished with two motors, team-modified voltage regulators, a motor controller, 48 volts of battery power and remote control. Raquel and her team made it easily through the regional competition and state competition with a first place win and they got to compete at the global competition in Nashville, Tennessee. At the global competition they even got the opportunity to attend technology seminars and watch other teams compete, which allowed for them to start thinking of innovative solutions for the years to come. For their second year, Raquel and her team wanted to really challenge themselves. Instead of choosing the required one of the six tasks, they picked one solution that simultaneously could solve two tasks. With a motorized train so big that they had to rent a U-Haul to transport, and the creation of a skit that showed how the train could do both tasks. It was no surprise, when Raquel and her team won both the regional and state competition again and were invited to the global competition. While they did not win the overall global prize, Raquel and her team were issued the seldom-awarded and prestigious Renaissance award, which goes to, “those among us who demonstrate extraordinary amounts of effort and preparation in their solutions or outstanding skill in engineering, design or performance,” which is truly a great testament to their skill and dedication. Once in high school, Raquel was asked by her Algebra 2 teacher to take her AP Computer Science Principles class the next year and she was hooked from day 1. There they learned the basic building blocks of coding and data science, with most of their work involving Java. This year she is continuing to build upon that knowledge in AP Computer Science A.
Outside of coding and technology, Raquel has a huge heart and is often thinking about how she can make others’ lives better. Inspired by a school project where she had to come up with a business plan, Raquel created The Friendly Food Pantry, which specifically designed for people with food allergies but could not afford them due to their often-inflated costs. While she got a 100 on the assignment, Raquel was not satisfied, as she wanted to do more. She applied for Hershey’s Heartwarming Actions and received a grant, and along with setting up a food drive, and fundraiser, Raquel was able to donate tons of healthy and allergy friendly food to the local food kitchen.
This future Chemistry major and Computer Science and Data Science minor will be continuing her education at West Virginia University, Johns Hopkins University, or George Mason University next year.
