On March 22-24, 2014, 206 Hispanic students from high schools across New York State traveled to Albany to participate in the 24th Annual Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI). The overall purpose of this Institute is to develop an in-depth knowledge of the New York State legislative process and develop leadership skills of Latino/Hispanic Youth.
The Rensselaer City School District hosted the 2014 PR/HYLI team building activities during day one of this year’s Institute where student delegates participated in activities focusing on the issue of bullying. Welcoming remarks were given by Regent Betty A. Rosa, Associate Commissioner, Angelica Infante and Questar III BOCES Deputy Superintendent Dr. Gladys I. Cruz.
During the Institute the student delegates took a firsthand look at the state legislative process and participated in a Mock Assembly debating actual bills that reflect key issues in their communities. These bills included but were not limited to: A01975 – to encourage parental involvement and participation by providing appropriate translation services to non-English speaking parents; A1970 – to ensure limited English proficient New Yorkers have access to health and human services provided by state and local agencies; and A07994 – to withdraw New York State from Common Core and Race to the Top programs.
During the evening of day two, students participated in a student recognition dinner where seniors who had applied for the PR/HYL scholarship and received top scores were granted $36,000 in scholarships sponsored from SOMOS El Futuro, Inc. Alan Cazarin, a senior from East Greenbush CSD who received a scholarship for $1,500 during the student recognition dinner wrote an essay on bullying and how, as a Latino leader, he would handle the situation. In addition to his own experiences with bullying, Cazarin researched other cases including one of an eight-year-old from Mexican descent who sang the national anthem at the NBA finals in San Diego and who then was faced with criticism on social media for his traditional Mexican dress and accent. “It didn’t even bother him and he rose above to show his leadership qualities,” said Cazarin. “It just goes to show that you should never forget where you come from and always have the passion and mindset to move forward. Life is full of obstacles, you just have to climb over that wall and be strong.”
The leadership program continues the work of the late Angelo Del Toro, a member of the New York State Assembly who died in 1994. Del Toro was influential in helping Hispanic youth understand their civic duty and encouraging them to give back to their communities.
“This leadership program provides students with a unique opportunity to understand the inner workings of New York State government,” said Deputy Superintendent Gladys Cruz: “This event really changes the students – it transforms them! They become more civically and politically minded.”
Questar III BOCES currently holds a five year contract awarded by the State Education Department to coordinate the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute Statewide. Questar III’s staff works closely with the NYS Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force in conjunction with the annual SOMOS El Futuro Inc., the Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies, the New York State City Board of Education, Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (RBERN), and other agencies as appropriate.
Questar III applauds the 2014 Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership student delegates for their determination and participation. For more information on the program, visit www.prhyli.org.
