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Solano recognized during Hispanic Heritage Month
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Neighbors | Submitted.Andrés Solano (right) received a condecoration from Grimilda Ocasio (left), president of Latinas United Networking Association and co-chair of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at Youngstown State University.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Andrés Solano (left) with his mother, Paulina Montaldo (right), dressed in a Colombian cumbia dress in which she performed during the Latinas United Networking Association’s awards presentation. Montaldo teaches in the Foreign Languages Department at Youngstown State University.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Andrés Solano received a scholarship from Latinas United Networking Association and was also awarded the Hispanic Heritage Student Achievement Award from Youngstown State University.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Andrés Solano (second from left) is shown with with Latinas United Networking Association officers Grimilda Ocasio (left), Rachel Flasco, Marilyn Montes and Olga Rivera (right) after he received a condecoration from the organization, along with a scholarship.
By ABBY SLANKER
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Andr s Solano, son of Paulina Montaldo and Gonzalo Solano, has received a scholarship from the Latinas United Networking Association and was also awarded the Hispanic Heritage Student Achievement Award from Youngstown State University.
Solano graduated from Canfield High School in 2010 and is currently a junior at Kent State University studying Managerial Marketing.
Solano was chosen to receive the Latinas United Networking Association scholarship, of which Hispanic students or Hispanic descendants from the tri-county area where able to apply, through an application process. He applied by submitting recommendation letters, his GPA, proof of community service, educational achievement and extracurricular activities, along with an essay in which he was to address an issue he felt was most prevalent in the Hispanic community, and what strategies would he use to resolve it. Solano’s essay was titled “Fighting Against Stereotypes and Lack of Information.”
Solano’s scholarship and condecoration were presented to him by Grimilda Ocasio, president of Latinas United Networking Association and co-chairwoman of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at Youngstown State University.
The Latinas United Networking Association’s purpose is to support Latin women seeking business and community opportunities and to provide mentoring opportunities for Latin youth in an effort to create the Latin leaders of tomorrow.
Dr. Consuelo Mendez El-Hayek, a physician from Canfield, nominated Solano for the Hispanic Heritage Student Achievement Award from Youngstown State University, which is given in recognition of “outstanding academic excellence, civic commitment, successful leadership and significant transformations.”
The award, which was signed by Dr. Ikram Khawaja, provost and vice president for academic affairs, was presented to Solano by Maggie McClendon, assistant director of admissions at Youngstown State University.
Solano is from Santiago, Chile, and has lived in the United States since he was 9.
He will become a U.S citizen in December.
Solano is a member of the Spanish and Latino Student Association and the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity at Kent State University and is also a staff associate of the Daily Kent Stater. He volunteers for the University Health Services and Akron Food Bank and has participated in charity events for Love 146 and Cornhole for a Cure.