CVCHS senior wins Hispanic Youth Award, union scholarship
Carol Alata, a Clayton Valley Charter High School senior, received a 2019 Youth Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.
Out of more than 13,000 applicants, she was one of six high school seniors nationally recognized for excellence in the classroom and leadership in the community. The foundation honored Alata last month as the national recipient in health care and science at the 20th annual ceremony, held at the Telemundo Center in Miami.
Established by the White House in 1987, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation is a non-profit that inspires and prepares Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce to meet the nation’s priorities.
Alata credits her mother as one of her biggest inspirations in pursuing her dream to become a physician. Her mother was one of the only OBGYN surgeons in her home country of Peru when she decided to leave her career behind to seek more opportunities for her children in the United States.
Additionally, Alata received a $60,000 scholarship from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39. This competitive scholarship required a rigorous application process and an interview process with a three-judge panel.
With a full schedule of AP and Honors courses at CVCHS, Alata plans to attend Stanford, Princeton or Harvard, where she hopes to study neuroscience or chemistry and political science or economics, with a minor in Latino studies.
