ESL Scholarship to Westhampton Beach Resident

Matilde Moncada of Westhampton Beach won a 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 twice per year to a female student who successfully completes level 3 of the English as a Second Language program at the Riverhead campus of Suffolk County Community College and is studying to achieve an educational goal.

Moncada, who moved from Nicaragua earlier this year to become a permanent U.S. resident, was an English teacher for first-grade students in her native country. She also taught marketing and publicity at John Paul II University in Nicaragua.

Moncada holds bachelor’s degrees in both education and social communication, and she is currently working online to earn her master’s degree in education from John Paul II University.

“My dream is to teach English in the U.S. and to help those in need of better opportunities,” Moncada said. “This scholarship will help me to save money in order to fulfill my biggest dream of becoming a bilingual teacher.”