A diverse group of students, dressed in prom dresses and tuxedos attended the Fillmore Silver Spring Sept. 10.
However these students were not attending a concert, which the venue is mainly used for, instead, this group of scholars were attending the Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala.
According to montgomeryhispanicgala.org, the Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala is a black tie event that “increases visibility about developing highly educated Latino professionals while providing critical financial assistance that will increase graduation rates form post-secondary education in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland.”
Along with speakers, sponsors, a drum performance, music, refreshments and socialization, a main component of the Gala was witnessing college students, who applied to the scholarship program earlier in the year, receive scholarships. RHS alumna (2015) and current freshman at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Brenda Diazdelvalle received the $2,000 Maryland Hispanic Achievement scholarship. Diazdelvalle said, “It was an honor to receive such an award. I met a lot of amazing people and made great connections from sponsors, but the most important part was to celebrate the success of minorities.”
Assistant school administrator Monica Abuliak also invited five high achieving Hispanic RHS seniors to attend the event. Senior Jonathan Garcia was one of these students. Garcia said, “I normally don’t get the opportunity to go to events that are dominated by the Hispanic community, so going to this event opened my eyes to all the success I can have despite being a minority in society. I got the opportunity to interact with kids just like me a�� It was amazing and completely broadened my understanding of the Hispanic culture.”