NHCSL Announces 2009 John S. Martinez Scholarship Recipients

PRESS RELEASE

36 Students Awarded College Financial Support and Leadership Development Opportunities

WASHINGTON, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) today announced its 2009 John S. Martinez Scholarship Fund scholarship recipients. Each recipient will receive a $1,500 academic scholarship upon graduating high school with a 3.0 average, and fully paid participation in a legislative hearing in Washington, DC. "We are pleased to be able to assist these top notch students as they prepare to achieve academic excellence," said NHCSL President, Rep. Joseph E. Miro (DE). "Through our partnership with Comcast we have been able to award 36 students with scholarships. These students are hard-working and are sure to make us proud as they become the future leaders of this country."

The focus of the scholarship fund is to develop Hispanic public servants through work experiences and learning opportunities. The scholarships are funded from a $150,000, three-year grant to NHCSL from the Comcast Foundation.

Comcast Foundation is supporting the implementation of NHCSL's Martinez scholarship program in 4 state districts with elected Hispanic state legislators; the states include Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Maryland. Recipients receive ongoing guidance, mentorship and leadership development support from NHCSL. The scholarship selection committee is comprised of local leaders in Washington, DC.

The 2009 scholarship recipients include: Adriana Hernandez, Corey Jacinto, and Karina Desroses from Colorado; Deborah Capiro, Jennifer Bustamante, Giancarlo Troncoso from Florida; Gilberto Chaidez, Karina Diaz, and Steven Carreno from Illinois; Angel Galvez, Ellisa Jacome, and Lucas M. Alvarado-Farrar from Maryland.

"The Comcast Foundation is pleased to continue supporting the NHCSL John S. Martinez Scholarship Fund. This support gives Latino students an opportunity to build invaluable leadership skills necessary for their development as our future leaders," said Susan Gonzales, Vice President for the Comcast Foundation.

The NHCSL is the premier national association of Hispanic state legislators working to design and implement policies and procedures that will improve the quality of life for Hispanics throughout the country. NHCSL was founded in 1989 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3 with the mission to be the most effective voice for the more than 300 Hispanic legislators. For more information visit www.nhcsl.org.

SOURCE National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
-0- 07/22/2009
/CONTACT: Rhina Villatoro, +1-202-434-8070, for National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators /
/Web site: http://www.nhcsl.org /