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Student Wins D.C. Trip
By Monique Vindigni
Haines City High School Student
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Isidro Madrid
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"Si, se puede," wrote senior Isidro Madrid. It means, "Yes,
it can be done."
That was the theme of a winning essay the Haines City High School student wrote
for a contest sponsored by the Hispanic Leaders Club. Madrid won a trip to Washington,
D.C., for his essay "Immigration Reform — The Road to Freedom."
Madrid was the only student in Florida to win this award. He and 42 other students
from across the United States and Puerto Rico were able to experience first
hand how America's national government works. They toured the White House,
the U.S. capital and the Pentagon.
While there, the students were able to talk to congressional and corporate
leaders and representatives of other institutions about their opinions on issues
going on today.
The students also wrote and shared essays with congressional leaders. "Immigration
made America what it is," said Madrid. Growing up as an only child, Madrid
hopes to go to college starting this summer. MIT being his number one college
choice, Madrid hopes to major in Chemical, Aeronautical, or Nuclear Engineering.
Madrid's number one motivator is his Technology/Computer teacher, Joel
Decker. "He is who inspired me to be an engineer."
Although Madrid's trip to D.C. was only a few days, he is thankful to
have taken it in hopes that one day, changes in America will have been made
because of him. With all of the things going on in his life, Madrid says that
if he could have touched one person during his trip or any time, that would
have made his time spent in D.C. well worth it. "Don't take life
too seriously, you'll never get out alive," are words Madrid lives
by.
For more information
on Haines City High, visit www.hainescityhighschool.com.
Immigration Reform: The Road to Freedom
Isidro Madrid
September 2, 2003
In this "Land-of-the-free," immigration plays an influential roll
in the United States population. Reform would be positive if it gave immigrants
the same rights as everyone else such as, employment, work benefits, and voting
rights. How do we expect ourselves to be categorized as a greater country if
our growing population is being held back in wages, housing, and personal opportunities
to better themselves and/or their families? Now that the government is taking
away or suppressing the immigrant's benefits such as their health care,
social security, and their ability to obtain a drivers license this causes a
lot of unnecessary trouble for the immigrants and undue controversy between
the United States and foreign immigrant's countries. This also brings
the upsetting facts in our immigrant voting rights, this is a major factor for
immigrants, and it can cause a plethora of problems if not dealt with. If immigrants
feel that our president is treating them well, then there will be no quandary,
but say another President with different views comes in, and alters the entire
immigration policy. From accepting immigrants to sending them all back to their
foreign countries instead of living their life here in "America's
freedom." This would not only take and empty all the hard-laboring jobs;
it would also hinder the labor industries therefore hurting our economy. There
will be no laborers to work the harder lower paying jobs and, causing us to
hire skilled workers to do their jobs for a higher pay. With the increased rate
in immigration, immigrants could not even attain the poverty level to sustain
their families. The hardships that they would endure while they attempted to
become legal citizens are difficult enough. If they succeed in becoming a legal
citizen and continue in the American life, the immigrants would have to take
on the harder lower paying jobs, sometimes even more than one of these jobs
to maintain a livable environment for their families. Just these major factors
leave cracks, bumps, and obstacles in America's road. To live this road
of Americans freedom is nice but to travel this road to freedom is extensive
and challenging.
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