Applauding Successful Latino Students -- and Their Parents

Red Sox slugger David "Big Papi" Ortiz congratulates one of 17 middle school students honored by El Mundo newspaper for their academic success. They received certificates during a pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park on May 5, 2010. (pic: El Mundo)

The following editorial is from ElMundoBoston.com.

Parents should be recognized as well...

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, El Mundo and the Boston Red Sox kicked off our 15th season of celebrating Latino Youth Recognition Days at Fenway Park .

In a pre-game ceremony moments before the Sox faced off against the Los Angeles Angels, 17 deserving Latino middle school students from Boston, Lynn , Lawrence and Malden were rewarded for their academic success with certificates of recognition. The awards were handed out by Red Sox Latino star David “Big Papi” Ortiz, who once again came through in the clutch for the kids. The honored El Mundo students also received free tickets and transportation to the game for their families. 

It was undoubtedly a proud moment for the students as the smiles on their faces proved that it was certainly a memorable event for each of the academic all stars. Yet, I believe it might have even been a more special event for the parents of the students. Although the students were the stars on this day, it was the hard work, constant support and steady guidance of their parents that was also on display at Fenway Park . 

For this, I would like to congratulate the proud fathers and mothers of the LYRD students. It is through the efforts of these and other Latino parents that we are able to reward these students with this unforgettable experience.

This week in El Mundo I dedicated the editorial to all those parents who are struggling every day to keep their children on the right path. Raising and educating kids in today’s society is not an easy task at all. It may be more difficult today than ever before. It is even more difficult and challenging when you are a recently arrived immigrant who has other obstacles to deal with.

For me, it was important to remind all of our readers of the difficult and often times overlooked task of being a parent in today's world.

It is not easy being a parent and, unfortunately, it can sometimes be easily forgotten to be acknowledged as such. I was very happy to publicly congratulate each and every LYRD parent and I have no problem doing it again and again. Thank you LYRD parents!  

Alberto Vasallo III is the president of El Mundo. 

source:  ElMundoBoston.com

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