NHCSL 2008 John S. Martinez Scholarship Recipients Participate in Legislative Hearing

Today the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) announced the recipients of the John S. Martinez Scholarship Fund and will present them $1,500 scholarships during a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The scholarship recipients are in DC participating in a legislative hearing during the 4th Annual NALEO National Summit on the State of Latino Education & Legislative Hearing on Pre-K and Early Grades. “We are proud of our scholarship recipients,” said NHCSL President Joseph Miro (DE). “Through our partnership with Comcast and these scholarships we can provide young and talented Hispanic students the opportunity to attend college and learn about public service at an early age.”

NHCSL’s scholarship fund was created to develop Hispanic leaders through exposure and learning opportunities within the public service arena. The scholarships are funded from a $150,000 grant to NHCSL from the Comcast Foundation; the grant will continue to be applied over the next year in support of the NHCSL scholarship program.

With state legislators in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Maryland, this program offers guidance and financial support to 12 Hispanic high school students selected by the NHCSL, Hispanic state legislators and educational institutions. Each student will receive his or her $1,500 scholarship after graduating from high school with a GPA of 3.0 or better.

The scholarship recipients for the second year of the program include: Isaiah Fransua, Alexandria Salazar and Yadira Solis from Colorado; Rebecca Espinosa, Emilio Lopez and Glysel M. Rivera from Florida; Maritza Gomez, Brenda Ortega and Omar A. Torres from Illinois; Barbara Hendrick, Ruben Antonio Muñoz Ochoa and Mariana Olaizola from Maryland.

“This grant provides Latino students a unique opportunity to gain leadership skills and learn about the public and private sectors,” said Susan Gonzales, Vice President for the Comcast Foundation. “We are proud to partner with programs such as the NHCSL John S. Martinez Scholarship Fund to significantly impact the development of our future leaders.”

The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) is a nonpartisan organization representing the interests of Hispanic state legislators from all states, commonwealths, and territories of the United States. NHCSL is a catalyst for joint action on issues of common concern to all segments of the Hispanic community. For more information, visit www.nhcsl.org. “

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