Flanders Resident Wins Peconic Bay Zonta Scholarship

Luvia Vasquez of Flanders won a $300 scholarship from Peconic Bay Zonta, a nonprofit group that works to improve the status of women and girls.

The local Zonta group awards the scholarship biannually to a student in the English as a Second Language program (ESL) who is studying to achieve an educational goal. Vasquez successfully completed level 3 of the ESL program at Suffolk County Community College.

Born in Guatemala, Vasquez came to the U.S. in 2017. In her scholarship application, she credited taking the ESL course with helping her to get “a great job” as a project manager assistant at Whitmore’s Landscaping in East Hampton. Her goal is to pursue getting an associate’s degree in business administration and grow professionally at her current job.

Also, she said she would like to help her parents learn English so that they could communicate better when they go to the doctor, the supermarket, or pursue other necessities.

Vasquez is grateful for the educational and career opportunities for women in the U.S.

She said, "I want to thank my ESL professors, Whitmore's Landscaping, Peconic Bay Zonta, God and my family for supporting and motivating me to achieve my educational and career goals."