| ?I want to prove to those who look at my background, judge my heritage, and doubt my success, that I can succeed through the proper use of open doors,? says Vanessa Perez, the 2004 National Hispanic Heritage Youth Award winner for Sports, sponsored by Subway. One of these doors was left wide open by Vanessa?s natural athletic talent and incredible drive to succeed. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School in Houston, Vanessa?s athletic achievement throughout high school was extraordinary. She was Captain of Varsity Cross-Country for three years, and Most Valuable Runner two years in a row, District Champion for Individual and Team, and a Regional Qualifier. In the four years she played Varsity Soccer, she was Captain for two, Second Team All-District and Most Improved Player in 2002, and First Team All-District and Most Valuable Player in 2003. She also played Varsity Basketball and was a member of Varsity Track, where she was the District Champion in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter races, as well as a Regional Qualifier. Not surprisingly, Vanessa was named the Most Outstanding Athlete in every sport she tackled, and was named Most Outstanding Athlete overall in her senior year. Vanessa is not just a star athlete, however. She was also a leader among her classmates and a spokeswoman for her Hispanic peers. Of El Salvadorian descent, Vanessa was Class President in 2003 and 2004, was a guest speaker at a Mexican-American cultural scholarship banquet, and introduced Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards at a town hall meeting. Throughout high school, she was also a member of Students Aspiring to a Better Education (SABE), sponsored by the University of Houston?s Center of Mexican American Studies, an organization that works to encourage cultural awareness and involvement in the community. Through SABE, Vanessa attended leadership retreats, and participated in educational workshops, mandatory weekly tutoring, and numerous volunteer initiatives, including feeding needy families on Thanksgiving, providing translation services for Spanish-speaking families registering for free vaccinations, making holiday cards for lonely bed-ridden patients in local hospitals, replacing graffiti in school restrooms with inspirational murals, and getting involved in Houston?s yearly K-9 Fun Run. Vanessa was recently awarded the highly prestigious Bill Gates Scholarship award, recognizing outstanding leadership, community service and academic achievement. She plans to be an assistant cross-country coach as well as a co-coach for a basketball team this summer, and will major in Civil Engineering at the University of Houston in the fall. She hopes to one day become a teacher. |
