Hispanic Heritage Month Essay 3rd Place Winner Awarded Prize At Walt Whitman High School

Optimum Community and Olympusat celebrated twelfth grader Gabrielle Ramirez for placing third in their 8th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest. During the presentation, Gabrielle read aloud her winning essay entitled “If I Could Have Twenty Four Hours” about Dr. Antonia Novello, the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General of the United States.

Students in the tristate area were invited to submit an essay of 500 words or less and to name a Latino, past or present, with whom they would choose to spend a day and explain why. Gabrielle’s essay was chosen from more than 600 essays in the high school category, and she was awarded a Kindle Fire e-Reader as well as a New York State citation from special guest Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci.

“Gabrielle’s award-winning essay on the struggles faced by Dr. Antonia Novello to become an influential physician and U.S. Surgeon General is both inspiring and informative,” said Assemblyman Lupinacci. “Thanks to programs such as Optimum Community’s Hispanic Heritage essay contest, students today have a greater realization of the many contributions made throughout the years by Hispanic Americans.”