Wichita Student Honored at Hispanic Heritage Foundation's Youth Awards Ceremony

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) has announced the recipients of the Regional Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards. Wichita high school senior Jonathan Balderas is one of the honorees.

Now in its 22nd year, this educational grant program honors Latinx high school seniors who excel in the classroom and community and for their excellence in various categories including: Business & Finance (presented by East Los Capital),Education (presented by Southwest Airlines),Engineering (presented by bp), Entrepreneurship (presented by TikTok), Healthcare & Science (presented by CVS Health), Media & Entertainment (presented by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers), Public Service (presented by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute), Social Justice (presented by Nike), and Technology (presented by T-Mobile). Colgate-Palmolive will provide educational grants through their Haz la U™ ("Make the U") program to 100 of the students.

Three students (Gold, Silver and Bronze) are honored in each category. Balderas is the Gold honoree in the Public Service category.

The Youth Awardees will receive grants for their education, or to fund an idea or community project to encourage actionable leadership. Recipients will then be mentored by past Youth Awardees as they prepare to attend college and into their careers through HHF's award-winning Latinos On Fast Track (LOFT) workforce development program.

Regional Youth Awardees will be honored during a virtual ceremony on March 2, 2021. After the Youth Awards Regional Ceremonies conclude, one national recipient will be recognized in each of the categories and celebrated at the National Youth Awards Ceremony.

To follow the Youth Awards virtual ceremonies online, use the hashtag #YA22.