Glen Rock, NJ, February 18, 2011 - Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan joined school officials and Cablevision at the Academy of Our Lady in Glen Rock to recognize Laura Mendez, 3rd place middle school winner of Power to Learn's 3rd annual "Hispanic Heritage Month" essay contest.  This was the second year in a row a student from the Academy was awarded a prize in this essay contest.

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At the awards ceremony, the 8th grader read her winning essay and was awarded a Netbook by Cablevision representatives.  In celebration of "Hispanic Heritage Month," Cablevision's Power to Learn and Olympusat, Inc. sponsored the essay contest for both middle-school and high-school students. This year's topic was The Hispanic Experience in New York.  Students were asked to describe someone or something that they believe has had a vital role in shaping the Hispanic experience in the greater New York area and/or how their own life in the greater New York area has been shaped and influenced by Hispanic people, culture and language. Other prizes included a $5,000 savings bond, an Apple iPad, and a laptop computer.  Olympusat, Inc. is the provider of such Spanish language channels as Latele Novela, TV Colombia, TV Chile and La Familia, all available on iO TV^® as part of the iO en espanol programming service.

"I'd like to thank Cablevision for providing this opportunity to our students to pay tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have so enriched this community and our nation," noted Bergen County Executive Donovan.  "Laura Mendez' thoughtful writing and understanding of her ethnic background should be applauded and I congratulate her for this accomplishment." 

Principal Patricia Keenaghan added, "Congratulations to Laura for her fine work.  It's through opportunities such as this that students today can express their pride while preserving the proud history and cultural traditions of Latinos everywhere."