Peconic Bay Awards ESL Scholarship to Myra Lopez

Myra Lopez (center) of Riverhead won a $300 scholarship from Peconic Bay Zonta, a service and advocacy group that works to improve the status of women.

Peconic Bay Zonta members Diane Greenberg (left) and Barbara Pierce joined Lopez, pictured with her award, at Suffolk County Community College’s eastern campus, where she successfully completed Level 3 of the school’s English as a Second Language (ESL) course.The local Zonta group awards the scholarship biannually to a female student in an ESL program who is studying to achieve an educational goal.

Lopez came to the U.S. from Guatemala eleven years ago. Her husband is also a native of Guatemala, and their two sons, ages 5 and 9, are learning to be bilingual. Lopez has a background in teaching, and she is currently a teacher’s aide in the Riverhead Head Start program. She serves as translator for the Spanish-speaking children in the program and also acts as a translator for some of the parents when they speak with the teacher.

Peconic Bay Zonta covers the East End of Long Island and is affiliated with Zonta International, which works to empower women worldwide through service and advocacy.