On Tuesday, April 28th, student delegates from the Capital District gathered at Questar III BOCES for their Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI) reunion. During the reunion, elected officials, student delegates, parents, and trainers shared their experiences regarding the PR/HYLI local trainings and weekend Institute activities.
Assemblymembers Crespo and Moya speak to Capital Region PRHYLI students
Hon. Marcos Crespo, Chair of the NYS Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force and Hon. Francisco Moya, Executive Member of the NYS Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican & Hispanic Task Force attended the reunion event. Both Assemblymembers shared their personal stories about their early involvement in politics. Their stories further encouraged students to become active members in their Hispanic/Latino communities. They also answered questions from students about becoming an active participant in government at a young age.
Among the many topics discussed during the 2015 PR/HYLI reunion, Trainers Theresa Longhi, Ruth Nova De Los Santos, Danny Ramirez, and Yesenia Valle, explained the student selection process for the PR/HYLI weekend. The Capital District Delegation selected 12 students to attend the 2015 PR/HYLI. Eight of the selected students were seniors and six of those seniors were awarded scholarships during the 2015 PR/HYLI Student Delegate Recognition Dinner. The scholarships were awarded as follows:
$2,000:
Jonathan J. Adorno- Amsterdam High School
Alexandra Betancourt-Pérez- Niskayuna High School
$1,500:
Maia Loi- Shenendehowa High School East
$1,000:
Mario E. Vásquez- Maple Hill High School
$700:
Sabrina Medina- Rensselaer Junior Senior High School
Catherine Wislous- Colonie Central High School
The $7,900 awarded to the Capital District Delegation was just a portion of the $37,960.00 in total scholarships awarded by SOMOS, Inc. at the 2015 PR/HYLI Student Delegate Recognition Dinner.
