Prairie State College student Juan Cazares (left) recently was named one of only 20 high school and college students to receive the 2016 Dr. Juan Andrade Scholarship for Young Hispanic Leaders. He is congratulated by Dr. Andrade (right) during the 2016 United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) Conference in Chicago.
CHICAGO HEIGHTS–(ENEWSPF)–March 31, 2016. Prairie State College (PSC) student Juan Cazares recently was named one of only 20 high school and college students to receive the 2016 Dr. Juan Andrade Scholarship for Young Hispanic Leaders.
Cazares was presented his award during the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) 34th Annual National Conference, held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers in Chicago. He is only the second PSC student to be recognized with the award. PSC graduate Emmanuel Lopez was a recipient in 2015.
“I still cannot believe I won,” Cazares said. “To be chosen from so many students competing for the same award is such a blessing.”
Cazares says that while the financial award will definitely help during his college career, it is the people he met and the memories that he made during the three-day conference that made the biggest impact on him.
“The conference was just amazing,” he said. “It was inspiring to see so many people invested in the success of Hispanic students, and listening to the other recipients’ stories was so empowering.”
Cazares says that among the people he met was the first Hispanic astronaut and the first minority leader of the FDA. He also was humbled to meet the scholarship’s namesake, Juan Andrade.
“Just to see how much Mr. Andrade cares about Hispanic empowerment is really incredible,” Cazares said. “All the people I met during the conference made the whole thing worthwhile.”
At PSC, Cazares is president of the All Latin Alliance. He also is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Alpha Beta Gamma, former treasurer and now member of Psi Beta and the Student Government Association representative for Alpha Beta Gamma
He plans to graduate from PSC in May, and attend DePaul University to study business in the fall. He is particularly interested in pursuing a career in global economics.
“I want to take my skills and knowledge and apply them on a global scale,” he said. “I have been amazed by all the options I have for a career with a business degree.”
His ultimate goal is to pursue international business, so he can help develop the business sector in third world countries.
“Many people in those countries don’t have the skills they need to develop their economy,” he said. “I hope to make a career in helping them do just that.”
Source: http://www.prairiestate.edu
