The Ola of Eastern Long Island organization announced the six beneficiaries of the “Ola Youth Scholarship” (“Ola Youth Scholarship”) this year: Briana Chávez, Vanessa Salome Galindo, Gabriela Jácome and Bradley Rodríguez, recently graduated from East Hampton high school (EHHS); and Daniel Rivas and Luis Tapia, recently graduated from Greenport High School (GHS).
The Scholarship Program for young people supports high school students who will attend universities of two or four years or who will study specialized professional training. It offers scholarships up to 4 years with a maximum of $ 4,500 per year, provided that students maintain an average of 3.0. Students of penultimate and last year of high school are invited to request them if they have participated in Ola’s youth activities.
The scholarship program began in 2019 with specific funds by Michael Donovan, member of the Board of Directors of Ola, and his wife, Linda Donovan, who continue to provide generous support.
To diversify and increase support to the program, Ola has just launched “creating legacies”, an initiative that encourages Latin entrepreneurs and community members to contribute to the scholarship fund. “Creating legacies” has already involved 7 entrepreneurs in this collective effort.
Merit honor
This year’s 6 fellows will attend prestigious four -year universities in Connecticut, Maryland, New York or Wisconsin. They are:
– Brianna Chávez (East Hampton High School)will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where you will study animal and veterinary biosciences and participate in a women’s learning community in Stem. Brianna likes art, running, baking and traveling. He also loves animals and spending time on the beach.
– Vanessa Salomé Galindo (East Hampton High School)will attend the Wesleyan University, where you plan to specialize in neuroscience in the Premiator program with a specialization in art of study. Salome loves painting, enjoying American Football Football (Flag Football) and is committed to learning more about his Latin community. He is passionate about helping others and values quality time with his family.
– Gabriela Jácome (East Hampton High School)will attend the University of Buffalo to study technology in nuclear medicine. Her fascination with how image technologies help to diagnose and treat patients has inspired her to follow a radiologist career. In his free time, Gabriela enjoys volunteering, especially when he has the opportunity to work with children or support immigrant families in his community.
– Daniel Rivas (Greenport High School)will attend Johns Hopkins University to study biology in the premedicin program. Enjoy science, mathematics, reading and tutorials. Daniel also loves playing football (Soccer), running and listening to music in his free time.
– Bradley Rodríguez (East Hampton High School)will attend Suny New Paltz to study business administration and journalism. Enjoy writing, reading, hiking and spending time with friends. Bradley is also passionate about athletics and explore new places.
– Luis Tapia (Greenport High School)will attend Suny New Paltz to study psychology. He likes to play basketball and picklet and enjoy running and go to the gym. Since he was 17, Luis has been a volunteer firefighter in the Greenport Fire Department. He is passionate about helping others and contributing to their community, and plans to use their education to support people and families who face life challenges.
Strengths and talents
“I am very impressed with the fellows,” said Minerva Pérez, executive director of Ola of Eastern Long Island. They have very varied interests, strengths and talents. They are like a microcosm of the potential and strength of our entire community. It is a great privilege to help them continue their education and achieve their dreams. We would not be able to achieve it without our generous donors and we appreciate their dedication to local youth.
In addition to the scholarship fund, the wave programming focused on youth includes youth empowerment dinners, where adolescents gather to talk about their options after graduating from high school; educational workshops on relevant topics for young people; art workshops; Summer camp for high school students and more.
These activities are mainly administered through “Youth Connect”, the Emotional Support Program for OLA adolescents, which operates in the five cities of the East End. Many of these events are facilitated or co-founded by young university students who work with wave as interns or other functions; And they provide a safe, intimate and attractive space for adolescents to know new people outside the school and discuss issues that would normally not address in a classroom.
Founded in 2002, Ola of Eastern Long Island, Inc. (Latin American Organization) is a non -profit entity dedicated to the defense of the rights of Latinos, which works in five localities of the East End: East Hampton, Southampton, Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island.
Eastern Long Island wave works to create a more equitable East End for Latin immigrants through the promotion of fair and inclusive government and school policies; the protection of families; the promotion of power and unity among Latinos through leadership workshops and other programs; and the construction of bridges between the different sectors of the East End community through the celebration of art and culture.
