Saint James sixth former Francine Diaz was recently named the bronze recipient of the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards in the Social Justice category. Founded in 1998 by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the prestigious Youth Awards program honors Latino high school seniors who excel in the classroom and community and for their excellence in various categories. From thousands of applications nationwide, three students were selected for each category in 10different regions across the country. Each will receive a one-time grant to fund their college education or to fund a community service effort that tackles a social issue.

From Kearny, New Jersey, Francine first heard about the Youth Awards from a teacher at home. She chose the social justice category because it resonated with her, and then completed an essay as part of a lengthy application process. She was thrilled to be an award recipient for a very competitive region comprised of eight states, including New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Francine and her fellow award recipients were honored in a virtual ceremony on March 11.

Francine stated that her primary goal is to give a voice to those who may not be able to use their own. Last summer, she led a peaceful demonstration in Hoboken, New Jersey, to speak up against police brutality incidents taking place across the country. Francine said she worked with an organization called Allies for Justice to organize and then communicated details through social media. Several thousand people attended the rally, and Francine had the opportunity to meet the mayor of Hoboken, and she was even featured on Channel 41 news, a Spanish-language station she grew up watching with her parents.

“I said that I thought this was a time for us all to become united and not divided by the things that are going on in our nation,” she said.

In the fall, Francine joined the student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee on campus. She feels the groundwork they have started this year will positively impact students in the years to come, including her sister Jenifer, a current third former.

“It’s so important because this has been like a second home to me, as it has for so many other people,” she said. “We’re getting a lot of things improved and addressing topics that are hard to address anywhere you go. Saint James has done a great job in supporting us.”

Francine said living in such a diverse community is a beautiful experience to have every day.

“To see someone from a different nation or culture and have them tell you about their experiences and learn from each other’s differences and all live together is so unique,” she said. “I’m so happy for that experience.”

Helping others has always been important to Francine. In her
first year at Saint James, she set
up donation bins in Coors Hall to collect clothing to take to Ecuador, where her parents are from and where she has many family members that she visits each summer.

“At the end of the year, a lot of girls will get rid of clothes, and I was thinking there is so much here that we could give back,” Francine said. “A lot of girls in Coors were excited to help. Not only were they giving things they didn’t want, but also clothes they just wanted to donate.”

Prior to her trip, she shipped 300 pounds of clothes that went to Ecuadorian girls in an orphanage in a rural part of the country. She also had monetary donations which she used to buy basic necessities that she took with her when she visited the orphanage.

“Seeing the looks on their faces is something that has stayed with me forever,” she said. “I want to keep doing this.”

On another summer trip to Ecuador, Francine led English tutoring sessions for children in the Galápagos Islands. While there, she also spent time rehabilitating forests that had been cut down.

“A lot of tourists would go there and pollute the area or accidentally bring species of wildlife that weren’t native to the area,” she said. “So, the numbers of native wildlife in the Galápagos are declining.”

Francine will attend Barnard College in New York City to study political science. Her goal is to become a lawyer with a dream of
one day joining Congress to make
a difference legislatively. She has applied to intern this summer for a congresswoman in New York, and she has spent previous summers at law camps, including one at Stanford.

Francine also hopes to spend a year in the Peace Corps after law school, something she said she has always wanted to experience.

At Saint James, Francine is editor of the Jacobite student newspaper, captain of the Speech and Debate team, and a member of the Model UN club. As part of her service-learning work at Saint James, Francine has packed lunches for children in need as part of Micah's Backpack, volunteered at the annual Kisseman Children’s Foundation Easter Egg Hunt held on campus, and worked with students from underserved populations while on a service trip to Saint James the Less in Philadelphia.

She is also a member of Varsity Lacrosse and Varsity Field Hockey teams, two sports she had not played prior to coming to Saint James. Francine’s main sport is Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which she started at the age of five. In January, she competed in a national tournament with the North American Grappling Association, where she placed first in the women’s bracket and third
in the men’s for her division. If her summers weren’t busy enough, she also teaches jiu-jitsu classes to children. Barnard College has an affiliation with Columbia University, and next year she will participate on Columbia’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu team.

Francine is excited for her future and the opportunity to combine her passions and continue to give back by helping others.

“The main message here is live bravely and lead for good, and I
feel like in the future I’m so excited because I see how much I love giving back to people and the satisfaction that it gives me, and I learned that at Saint James,” she said.