2006 Essay Contest Winnerswill be launched soon. Please check back for the 2008 contest rules.  On October 3, 2006, Allstate Insurance Company and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) honored 12 Hispanic youth leaders as winners of the second Annual Líderes de Hoy National Essay Contest. The national essay contest recognized six high school and six college scholars. For each category, one grand prize winner received a one-time scholarship of $10,000. The other five winners in each category received a one-time award of $5,000. The 12 winners were recognized for their extraordinary achievements and commitment to their community.
Applicants of the National Essay Contest were asked to answer the following question: “As a young leader, how have you been a catalyst for positive change and contributed to inspiring your community?” The essays were judged by a panel of high-profile leaders in the Hispanic community on the basis of commitment to community, exemplary leadership, and the promise to continue involvement in community and civic affairs. The 12 winners were selected from more than 300 entrants from throughout the United States. The winners of the 2006 Líderes de Hoy National Essay Contest are Hedy Romero of Washington, DC Maria Magdalena Becerra of San Fernando, California Tyler Sanchez of Racine, Wisconsin Pedro Quintana of San Jose, California Greisa Martinez of Dallas, Texas Daniel Giraldo of Apex, North Carolina Cristian Arcega of Phoenix, Arizona Evelyn Flores of Las Vegas, Nevada Eira Lizeth Corral of Hanover Park, Illinois Andrea Pardo of Kansas City, Kansas Fabiola Torralba of San Antonio, Texas Carolina Escalera of Tallahassee, Florida Throughout the next few months, NCLR will feature all 12 winners to share their stories! Allstate News Release with Photos of the winners. Grand Prize Winners  Cristian Arcega
Cristian Arcega is the recipient of the $10,000 grand prize in the college category. Cristian has always enjoyed creating things. He has known since he was very young that he wanted to combine his desire to be an engineer with helping others. Cristian is 18 years old and a freshman at Arizona State University. Cristian graduated from Carl Hayden High school in Phoenix Arizona. During his sophomore year, he met his mentors Fredi Lajvardi and Allan Cameron and joined the Falcon robotics Team. He had never been encouraged to excel academically. Now he was expected to work his “hardest at all times and to always perform to succeed.” Mr. Cameron and Mr. Lajvardi helped Cristian and the robotics team prepare for a national competition In 2004, the Falcon Robotics Team won the National Underwater Robotics Championship. Lorenzo Santillan, Cristian Arcega, Oscar Vasquez, and Luis Aranda stunned educators and scientists when they beat high school and university teams, including MIT at the University of California-Santa Barbara's swimming pool. Cristian’s skill as the driver of their underwater robot, “Stinky,” provided him with concentration and composure. Through his experience as a team leader Cristian acquired confidence to publicly tell his story of how “boys from the barrio” can compete and beat the best in the nation. He began doing live presentations along with radio, television, magazine, and newspaper interviews. “I became enlightened to spread hope throughout my community.” Cristian has continued to present to corporate CEOs, public officials, nonprofit organizations, and students. Cristian’s message is always one of encouragement and success. He encourages Latino youth to finish high school and continue their education. Cristian is the first in his family to pursue a college degree. Cristian discovered that his achievements in high school, however, could not assist him in attending college. His undocumented status did not allow him to apply for federal or institutional aid, such as grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study programs, regardless of how long he had lived in Arizona. During the 2005 NCLR Annual Conference, Cristian and his team members spoke out in support of the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.” The “DREAM Act” would allow an immigrant’s status to be changed on a conditional basis, giving them increased access to educational benefits and the opportunity to attend universities. As of now, ten states have passed laws allowing immigrants who attended public high school in their state for three or more years to be eligible for in-state tuition. These states are: California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Consequently, the Phoenix Union High School District created La Vida Robot Scholarship fund to benefit the further education of Cristian, Lorenzo Santillan, Luis Aranda, and Oscar Vazquez. Cristian is also involved in his community. He volunteers at the St. Mary’s Food Bank, and he still mentors students participating in the Carl Haden Lego Robotics Team, teaching children how to cooperate and become effective team members.  Tyler Sanchez
Tyler Sanchez is recipient of the $10,000 grand prize in the high school category. He is 18 years old from Racine, Wisconsin where he graduated from Prairie High School. Tyler’s father is Columbian and his mother is Australian. Tyler has been active in student government, athletics, and community service. However, his most impressive achievement is his musical talent. Tyler composes and performs original songs on his own CD, and began entertaining nursing home residents with his piano music when he decided to combine his community service work with his passion for music. Tyler has been inventing piano melodies for years. As an eighth grader, he entered one of his songs, “In My Hands I Hold,” into the PTA’s nationwide reflections contest. It won the grand prize at the Wisconsin state level. It is one of the seven songs on Tyler’s CD, A New Beginning, which took more than 100 hours to record. Tyler used A New Beginning to create his project “Note for Hope.” He sold more than 1,000 CDs and raised more than $6,000 for United Way of Racine County Wisconsin and The American Kidney Fund. Tyler was born with one kidney. He chose to donate half of his proceeds from the sale of the CD to the American Kidney Fund to help combat kidney disease. “I know kidney disease is often linked to diabetes, which runs in my family. I am Hispanic, and we are two to three times more likely to develop diabetes than Caucasians.” Tyler is the youngest leadership giver in the United Way of Racine County. He has also organized Christmas Katrina to collect items to make 50 gift baskets for a group of children in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. He is currently a freshman at Vanderbilt University. To read Tyler's winning essay click here Essay Winners  Carolina Escalera
Carolina is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the college category. She is a 19-year-old, ambitious young woman who is pursuing a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri (MU)–Columbia. Her parents are from Venezuela and Puerto Rico, but Carolina grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. When she first started at MU, Carolina was surprised to find she was the only Hispanic student in some of her classes. Although she attends a university with 27,000 students, only 500 are Hispanics. Carolina wanted to bring more understanding about the Hispanic community to MU campus. She helped establish the first Hispanic student orientation at MU, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO). In another effort to bring diversity to campus, she helped host 14 universities from Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, and Kansas for a HALO conference. Carolina also identified the need for an Hispanic student group to address the increasing numbers of Hispanic students enrolled in journalism. She established the first student chapter of the National Hispanic Journalists Association (NHJA) at MU by contacting the national organization, and working with journalism faculty and the MU administration to create the campus organization. Carolina spent last summer as an Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) Fellow at Spelman College. She has also continued her commitment to community service through her work at Centro Latino, and serves as a mentor and role model to the youth she tutors. She is planning on spending a semester studying in Latin America. After graduating, Carolina has aspirations of being a leader in the Hispanic community through her work in journalism and international affairs. To read Carolina's essay click here  Hedy Romero
Hedy Romero is from Washington, DC. She is seventeen years old and a student at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy. She is also a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the high school category. Hedy is committed to informing the Latino community about health issues. For the past two years she has been a Teen Health Promoter at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). She raises awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and obesity. She is a student apprentice for a doctor, and also works with LAYC’s Youth Lead Substance Abuse Prevention Program. She has reached nearly 300 youth through health education workshops and events. Last spring, Hedy organized students to march in the May-1 immigration reform rally in Washington, DC. With the help of her teacher, Ms. Amria Firmino-Castillo, Hedy organized a school-sanctioned excursion to Georgetown University (GU). The students attended a vigil and a GU teach- in about immigration reform before attending the rally. Living in Washington, DC, Hedy realized the need to dissolve misunderstandings between African Americans and Latinos. She spent 40 hours of training with Organizing Community Equity (ONE-DC), a grassroots organization that works on coalition-building. Last summer, Hedy attended the Greater Washington Hispanic Youth Symposium. This fall, Hedy is volunteering at the Hispanic College Fund and helping recruit high school students for the Greater Washington Hispanic Youth Symposium. Hedy wants to attend college and study political science and Latin American studies. She also aspires to be the first Latina mayor in Washington, DC or a U.S. Representative To read Hedy's essay click here  Andrea Pardo
Andrea Pardo is a Líderes de Hoy essay contest winner in the college category. She is currently a junior at Kansas State University (K-State). Andrea moved to the United States when she was 15 years old. She could not speak, read, or write English. She quickly learned that in order to graduate she needed to complete community service hours in addition to her academics. Andrea worked hard in school and in her community, and by the time she graduated she was ranked third in her class. Yet her undocumented immigrant status threatened her chances of attending college in Kansas. Andrea worked tirelessly for the passage of legislation in Kansas to allow undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state tuition to attend public universities. She testified at the Capitol in Topeka, attended meetings, sent letters to senators, and visited with legislators on behalf of the many undocumented students. She also collected hundreds of petitions for the “Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act” – a law that would allow high school students to apply for residency after graduation and to obtain a post-secondary education. Before starting at K-State, Andrea traveled to Washington, DC to receive the 2004 Dorothy Richardson Award and was given a Presidential Volunteer Service Award. On January 23, 2006 she hand delivered a letter to President Bush, while he was a guest speaker at K-State, asking for his support on the “DREAM Act.” Andrea has continued to organize forums that bring awareness of immigrant students’ struggles for higher education to students and faculty at K-State. This past spring she spoke at the comprehensive immigration reform rally at K-State, during the “National Day of Action.” Andrea sees herself as a community leader. Currently, she is on the “DREAM Act” committee which is raising funds for scholarships that will be given to undocumented students. She recently spoke to English as a second language (ESL) students at a local high school. She shared her own struggles and described the many opportunities there are for them to follow their dreams. She said, “I reminded them that I was once in their place, and I wanted to show them that they too could graduate and attend any university in Kansas.” To read Andrea's essay click here  Pedro QuintanaPedro Quintano is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the high school category. He is a senior at Latino College Preparatory Academy in San Jose, California. Pedro immigrated to California when he was nine years old with his older brother and mother. They fled from an abusive father and were forced to leave behind a younger brother in Mexico. After a childhood spent laboring in fields and never attending school, Pedro found himself in California with grandparents he never knew. Pedro lived with 12 other people in his grandparents’ two-bedroom apartment. At first Pedro struggled in school. He had to learn the alphabet as well as English. Soon he was excelling in school; yet he missed the responsibilities he had working in the fields. Even as a boy he had learned to be a leader to the men who worked with him. He found himself as the leader of his middle school friends but often he led them into mischief. Pedro’s mother enrolled him in a private school, the Latino College Preparatory Academy, to keep him out of trouble. After spending four years, getting by in public schools, Pedro finally realized his academic potential at the Academy. He began to bring home grades that made his mother proud. With the knowledge he learned in school, Pedro also was able to help his mother improve her life. Pedro is a leader in his school, and in his community. He is an editor of the school newspaper that he helped start. The newspaper recently won an award at the National High School Journalism Convention. Pedro works at his school to help with his tuition. He interns at the Semi Technology Institute and has accrued more than 300 hours of community service. About his future, he writes, “I am now ready not only to accomplish my dreams, not only her [his mother] dreams, not only my family’s dreams. I am ready to accomplish the dreams of a community.” Pedro plans to apply to Stanford University  Evelyn Flores Evelyn Flores is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the college category. She is currently a senior at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Evelyn Flores began her transformation into a community leader as the Student Body President of the Community College of Southern Nevada. She was the representative for more that 33,000 students. Evelyn initiated a free tutoring program for all of the school’s students. She then interned with U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) before transferring to UNLV. At UNLV Evelyn was elected Senator for the College of Liberal Arts. None of these experiences were as fulfilling for Evelyn as she had hoped. She realized that she needed to work for the Latino community at the grassroots level. Her leadership philosophy is “one of collective empowerment, guided by servitude towards her community.” Evelyn is a leader of the Immigrant Rights Movement for Students Stand Up/MEChA de UNLV and the United Coalition for Immigrant Rights. These groups organized the largest marches in Las Vegas history last April and May for immigration reform. They also helped organize city-wide student walkouts. They continue to conduct immigration forums and hold events to educate the community. Through all of her leadership experiences Evelyn has learned that in order for “social change justice to happen, people must attain a critical education about their position in society and be guided by genuine commitment for social justice.” Evelyn is committed to immigrant rights. She is currently working with students and the Latino community to create the only nonprofit organization that will provide free legal assistance to immigrants in Las Vegas. Her honors thesis analyzes the relationship between labor markets and immigration labor policies. She will complete her double majors in English and Political Science in 2007. Evelyn plans to dedicate her life to public service as an elected official.  Daniel GiraldoDaniel Giraldo is from Apex, North Carolina. He is a Líderes de Hoyessay winner in the high school category. He is eighteen years old and a student at Middle Creek High School. Daniel immigrated to Apex from Bogotá, Columbia two years ago. He faced many obstacles during his first year in high school, including having to convince the school counselor that he was prepared to meet the high school requirements for college applications. During this hectic time of adjustment, he was unable to pursue his passions of soccer, guitar and debate. Luckily he discovered a local organization, El Pueblo, which enabled him to participate in community projects. Daniel worked on the No Fume Youth Leadership Project. The project focused on the influence of tobacco on the Latino community. Daniel also was able to travel to Washington, DC with El Pueblo where he participated in a public health meeting with the American Legacy Foundation. During his visit to Washington, DC Daniel also attended the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) National Issue Briefing and Advocacy Day. He learned the importance of advocacy during the first day of briefing. On the second day he went to Capitol Hill and visited several members of Congress to share his views about the uses of tobacco and why communities should be tobacco free. Daniel worked on the North Carolina Youth Legislative Assembly where he was able to debate and vote on state legislation. At the National Equity Center Summer Civil Rights and Social Justice Training Institute Daniel learned about the civil rights movement. He presented his views and a new bill about immigration rights. Finally, Daniel was able to combine his academic work with his passions. He was selected for the junior varsity soccer team; formed the Music Interest Club; and cultivated his debating skills. His long-term goal is to become a community leader and civil rights advocate.  Eira CorralEira Corral is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the college category. She is currently a senior at DePaul University. Maria’s parents emigrated from Mexico, and she is the first in her family to go to college. She chose to study political science at DePaul University because she wanted to go into public service. She became involved in the DePaul Alliance for Latino Empowerment (DALE), the Student Leadership Institute (SLI), and Campus Ministry. As she entered her sophomore year Eira learned she was pregnant. She was determined to stay in school and complete her undergraduate degree in four years with a 3.6 GPA and make the dean’s list. She realized she had to resign from some of her duties in DALE and SLI. Eira was empowered by her “own sense of determination to complete [her] college education; [she] wanted to help other students reach their academic goals.” She interned at Rainbow/Push Coalitions’ Education Program. She also completed 90 hours of community service at the University of Chicago Student Activists for Democracy Project. At the end of her second quarter Eira’s son was born. She considers motherhood to be her most important leadership position. Throughout all her experiences, Eira has learned that education is the key for the future prosperity of the Latino community. She is a mentor to middle school and high school students to help them graduate and apply to college. Eira is also passionate about immigration issues. She worked for Congressman Luis Gutierrez and his office’s Citizen Workshops. She also interned at the Illinois Department of Human Rights on immigration issues. She participated in the Chicago immigration reform marches last spring. Eira realizes that civic engagement is essential in overcoming the struggles the Latino community faces with education and immigration. She strongly believes that voter registration is imperative, and personally registered 500 citizens. She has appeared on Univision to speak about the importance of voting in the Latino community. Eira is now in her senior year. She has declared a second major in Latin American Studies and a minor in Commercial Spanish. She is completing her senior thesis; participating in a service learning trip with Borderlinks to Nogales, Mexico; studying abroad in Chile and Argentina; and interning at Steans Center. Eira plans on continuing to expand her leadership qualities to empower herself and others to reach success. She plans to instill in her son the value of honesty, self-determination, compassion, education, and cultural identity.  Maria Magdalena Becerra
Maria Magdalena Becerra is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the high school category. She is from San Fernando, California. She is eighteen years old and currently a freshman at University of California, Berkley. Several years ago Maria experienced a personal tragedy that taught her the importance of community. Although Maria’s only brother was not a gang member, he was killed in a gang ambush. After his death, Maria realized that her whole community was caught up in the “perpetual cycle of poverty” and violence. She decided to become involved to help improve the conditions of her community. Maria joined several nonprofit organizations to work on issues that are important to her –urban housing and health care. As a member of the Richard Alarcon Young Senators Program, Maria learned about the legislative process, and participated in local community service projects. Some of the projects included feeding the homeless and improving city parks to help remove the presence of gangs. Maria also worked with the Key Club and Upward Bound. Maria’s interest in health care began when her family was faced with medical and financial problems. Following her brother’s death, Maria’s mother became disabled after 23 years as a machine operator. Her father became the only source of income although he faced his own medical issues. As Maria saw her family struggle with their medical problems, she helped others learn to understand the medical system. Through the Young Senators Program she helped senior citizens with health screenings, and counseled them about Medicare changes and benefits. Maria realizes she is just one person working to improve the lives of others, but she believes through education she can give back to her community. Maria plans to graduate from University of California, Berkley and the join the Peace Corps.  Fabiola Torralba
Fabiola Torralba is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the college category. She is from San Antonio, Texas and attends the University of Texas at San Antonio. Fabiola has been working with Esperanza Peace and Justice Center for the past three years. She is a Buena Gente volunteer. Her first act of civic engagement with Esperanza was to testify at Federal Communication Commission hearings. She spoke about the stereotypical representation of Mexican Americans in media, the lack of diversity, and the social affects on inner city youth. Since then, Fabiola has participated in various community marches and protests, and has spoken at council meetings. She learned how to organize the Latino community and how to engage them in civic action. Fabiola recently was involved in collecting stories from sabias/os or wise elders. She and other Buena Gente volunteers established relationships with these elderly Latinos. Through their voices and reflections of the past, she has been able to collect San Antonio’s Mexican American history. Her work culminated with a concert in Westside with Lila Downs. Prior to the concert Fabiola held training workshops on documenting and interviewing skills. Fabiola documented the concert and the sabias/os who attended. Her current research project involves collecting photographs from the Westside neighborhood of San Antonio in the early 1900s. The objective is to engage families to share their photographs with the rest of the community to teach others about the Mexican American experience in San Antonio. Fabiola wants her work to include “listening to personal narratives, sharing people’s truths, and affirming stories of life experiences as sources of empowerment, strength, and vigilance” in the face of oppression. She hopes to combine her research with social justice issues and work to change public policy that affects Latinos.  Greisa Martinez
Greisa Martinez is a Líderes de Hoy essay winner in the high school category. She is from Dallas, Texas and attended Townview High School. She is 18 years old and currently a freshman at Texas A & M University at College Station. Greisa has received numerous awards and recognitions, several of which have been from her peers in the local LULAC Youth Councils. She is a member of the Texas LULAC Youth District III Executive Board and was elected District III Youth Treasurer. Through her work on behalf of her community, Greisa found herself as one of the leaders in the student-led walkouts that occurred throughout Dallas in late March 2006. Greisa made flyers and banners, and organized an email campaign. Greisa organized 200 students from the High School for Health Professionals and five other magnet programs at Townview High School to join 500,000 people at Kiest Park in Dallas for the Megamarch. Greisa worked to ensure that all the marchers remained peaceful and focused on the message of immigrant rights. Greisa’s composure and confidence led her to be selected by her peers to represent them on various television and radio interviews that were broadcast throughout North Texas and rebroadcast throughout Texas and the country. Following the Megamarch, Greisa was selected to participate in the steering committee for the My Vote + 5, a voter registration and education project. She joined Adelfa Callejo, a veteran civil rights activist, to organize voter registration drives to register new voters and deputize youth to register others. On May 1, 2006, Greisa organized 5,000 students to boycott any additional walkouts. Instead, Greisa encouraged the students to join her at a park after school. There they educated youth about the immigration debate and registered youth to vote. Most recently Greisa co-founded YASPA (Young Advocates Spreading Political Awareness). Now as a student at Texas A & M she looks forward to educating others about the issues important to Hispanics, especially immigration reform. |
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