Huntington Duo Named National Hispanic Scholars

The College Board has named Huntington High School seniors Alexander Castillo and Naomi Medina-Jaudes National Hispanic Scholars in recognition of their exceptional academic performance.

“Alex and Naomi have shined in the classroom and have placed their full commitment into every one of their academic and extracurricular endeavors,” Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “They are genuinely deserving of the national recognition.”

“Although the national Hispanic recognition program does not provide monetary awards, being named is an important academic achievement,” wrote Diane Tsukamaki, the College Board’s director of national recognition and scholarship programs in a letter to Huntington Principal Carmela Leonardi.

The program recognizing outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students was initiated in 1983 by the College Board. “This year, the NHRP is recognizing about 5,300 Hispanic/Latino students selected from a pool of over 259,000 who took the 2012 PSAT/NMQT/PAA,” Ms. Tsukamaki said. Students with a junior year cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher are designated as scholars and those with a GPA of between 3.0 and 3.49 are recognized as honorable mentions.

“Both these students are hardworking, creative and independent,” Dr. Leonardi said about Ms. Medina-Jaudes and Mr. Castillo. They are carrying very rigorous schedules and still manage to give of their time to other activities. In fact, Naomi also teaches Sunday school for her local congregation. We are very proud of their accomplishments.”

“I was truly surprised when I received notification that I had been selected for this recognition,” Ms. Medina-Jaudes said. “It was such an honor to be recognized by the College Board as my heritage plays an essential role in who I am. It was amazing to share with all my family in Mexico that I was a national Hispanic scholar.”

The senior is enrolled in AP Calculus BC, AP Physics, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Government and Politics, AP Microeconomics, AP Studio Art, Spanish V Honors and Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Medina-Jaudes is co-president of the Grandfriends club, treasurer of the yearbook club, secretary of the Math Honor Society and a member of the National, English, Science and Spanish Honor Societies.

Ms. Medina-Jaudes plays piano with Huntington High School’s jazz ensemble. She is in her third season playing on the Blue Devil varsity girls’ soccer team and plans to continue running with the winter and spring track and field teams this year.

“I am interested in applying to a small liberal arts college in the New England area,” Ms. Medina-Jaudes said. “I’ve been looking at some schools, specifically in Massachusetts. As for a possible major, I’m considering psychology and math.”

Mr. Castillo is the president of the Huntington High School student government. He has earned varsity letters in soccer, basketball and tennis and is known as an all-around good guy. The teenager has excelled in his studies beginning at an early age and has taken almost all of the district’s most challenging courses and earned high grades.

The teenager is proud to have been named a National Hispanic Scholar. “This makes my hard work in school worth it 100 percent,” he said. “I will be applying to Stanford, Duke and Georgia Tech, to name a few, and am hoping to major in either engineering or business management.”