A hearty congratulations goes out to the twenty-seven William Floyd High School students who were recently honored at the 11th annual Town of Brookhaven Hispanic Heritage Month celebration for academic excellence.
These students stood out, and above, by achieving and maintaining a grade point average of 95 or higher. William Floyd students took 20 percent of all the honors. There were 160 high school students from 15 districts across Brookhaven recognized. This is a wonderful achievement and speaks volumes about the good work of the educators and leadership at Wm. Floyd High School.
"Congratulations to the Town of Brookhaven Hispanic Heritage academic excellence honorees. Achieving and maintaining a grade point average of 95 or higher is an amazing accomplishment – one that demonstrates hard work and dedication. I am so proud of them for all they have accomplished. They have a bright future ahead," Philip Scotto, principal, William Floyd High School.
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor, Dan Panico, attended the event and said, "As a proud graduate of William Floyd High School, I am incredibly honored to see so many of the talented students recognized for their academic excellence. These students are the future of our community, and their hard work and dedication inspire us all."
Other Town of Brookhaven officials who attended the event include Town Clerk Kevin Lavalle, Councilman Neil Manzella, Guillermo Sandoval, Chairman of the Hispanic Advisory Board, and Councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig.
Sandoval, whose family immigrated from Chile when he was just 10 years old, commented that "it is so important to have these ceremonies with the parents present. I feel it is important that the parents feel the joy and see their child be recognized for all their hard work. I want them to celebrate their kids. Some of the students come from difficult circumstances and there are often language barriers for their parents. These students achieving high honors in their education and their parents seeing them recognized publicly for it shows that they can achieve and be successful here in the United States."
"I served in the Marines while I still had a green card, I wasn't a citizen when I went to Iraq. When I came back I wanted to continue to serve my community and got involved with the VFW and then the Hispanic History Commission. I also went through the process of becoming a citizen of the United States. It is important to show these students and families that there are many ways to give back to your country."
Students and their families attended a Hispanic Heritage celebration that featured cultural performances, art, food, and more. Calvin Arancibia, a 2016 William Floyd High School alumnus, and decorated student-musician during his academic career, was one of several keynote speakers honored. Mr. Arancibia, who served in the United States Marine Corps, is currently studying music education and Japanese at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
The 27 student-scholars that earned this recognition include Nia Alicea, Geovanni Alvarez-Lopez, Glendy Ayavaca, Emilio Balbuena, Brooklyn Barnes, Stephanie Bernales Velez, Joseph Cabrera, Milton Calderon-Suriel, Lynette Cardona, Daniela Chacon, Briant Fuentes, Gabriela Galan, Lily Gomez-Rodriguez, Ana Guerra Vasconez, Carlos Hernandez Parias Jr., Aviana Higueros, Victoria Juarez, Ivory Lezama Santana, Abigail Lizzol, Zariel Macchia, Jakeline Molina Sandoval, Michael Pedra, Nicole Peralta Maza, Axel Pesantez-Medina, Kevin Quiroga Nugura, Alan Remache Sinchi and Tatyana Thawe.
The Brookhaven Town Hispanic Advisory Board was established in 2013 to help improve cultural understanding between the Hispanic community, civic and business leaders, Brookhaven government and town residents. The mission of the Hispanic Advisory Board is to discuss and address issues of importance and relevance to the Hispanic community and make recommendations regarding proposed legislation to the Brookhaven Town Board.