Gemstone Foods, LLC, a growing protein supplier, is delighted to announce that Teresa Fuentes is the winner of the 2020 Future Hispanic Leaders Scholarship. Teresa is currently a Northeastern Illinois senior majoring in Bilingual/Bicultural Elementary Education. She and her family came to the United States from Mexico City when she was 5 years old. Teresa credits her parents for her ability to master the English language quickly by emphasizing the importance of reading.
Teresa’s high school experience heavily influenced her decision to pursue a career in education. Upon graduation from high school, Teresa noticed that very few of her fellow Hispanic classmates had plans to seek higher education. At first she wondered why, but upon reflection, she attributed this fact to a US educational system that often fails to take cultural diversity and language barriers into consideration when it comes to providing adequate tools needed to thrive at the collegiate level.