Photo by Denae Brewer/Horizon
Miss USA, Susie Castillo and Verizon officials join student at C.E.S. 73 in a Hispanic Heritage month celebration.

Miss USA comes to HB

By Denae Brewer
Editor in Chief

It was a rainy breezy November morning and although Hispanic Heritage month officially ended last month—October 15 to be exact—children at C.E.S. 73 celebrated nonetheless.

Through its Achieve Your Dreams . . . Preserve your Heritage program; Verizon spearheaded an event that saw to the donation of computers and books to several schools nationwide.

The event at 73 was the last stop on a six-city tour. “We’re here to celebrate our culture and its many differences,” said Magda Yrizarry, Verizon vice-president public policy-Hispanic affairs.

In a community that’s predominately Hispanic—57 percent according to the 2000 census—officials thought the children at 73 were the perfect recipients for the generous donations.

“We want to promote both languages,” said Mary Simone, Principal at C.E.S. 73, commenting on the over 600 bilingual books donated by Scholastic Inc., a children’s publishing company. “We want to promote the love of their culture.”

While all involved stressed the importance of an education, Verizon officials also pointed out the need for the children to remember who they are.

Bringing that point home, Miss USA Susie Castillo paid a surprise visit to the school.

As a way of building their self-esteem, Miss USA praised the children, telling them “You are all so beautiful.”

Of two different Hispanic backgrounds—her parents were Dominican and Puerto Rican—Ms. Castillo challenged the children to never loose sight of their dreams and stressed that their bilingualism is an important asset not a hindrance. “You have a special talent,” she said. “You can communicate in both worlds. Use that to your advantage.”

In a pageant of sorts, Mr. and Miss C.E.S. 73 were crowned by Miss USA. The two children, Garvis Zabala and Barbara Crespo, were picked for their outstanding academic achievement. “I was very surprised and very excited about all this,” Miss Crespo said.

Later, Miss USA held a read-along with the students in the school’s library. Reading from Arroz con Leche, on of the newly donated bilingual books, she and the children harmonized as they read out loud.

Ms. Simone was very grateful to Verizon for their contribution and their commitment to Hispanic pride. She thanked everyone involved especially Miss USA “She’s a wonderful role model. The children see her and they see what can be achieved through hard work and dedication.”

Over the next year, Verizon employees who are members of the company’s Hispanic Heritage Organization will volunteer at the school assisting the children in using the new computers.