Peconic Bay Zonta Awards Two Scholarships to ESL Students

Maria Esthefany Palacios of Mastic and Maria Puente of Ronkonkoma each won a $350 scholarship from Peconic Bay Zonta, a nonprofit group that works to improve the status of women and girls. The local Zonta group, which covers the eastern Long Island, awards the scholarship twice per year to one or more female students who successfully complete level 3 of English as a Second Language (ESL) program at the Riverhead campus of Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) and are studying to achieve an educational goal.

Maria Esthefany Palacios

Palacios emigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela three years ago. She was a doctor (specifically, a general practitioner) working at a hospital in her native country. Currently working as a driver for DoorDash, she hopes to improve her English-speaking and writing skills at SCCC, and continue her health care career in the U.S.

“It was hard to get by in the U.S. in the beginning because I didn’t know the language. I couldn’t express myself until I took courses at SCCC,” she said. “It has been a great experience and changed my life.”

Puente, a single mother who lives with her 18-year-old son, currently works as a nursing assistant at the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook, but her goal is to become a licensed practical nurse.

Maria Puente

“I came to the U.S. from Peru twenty years ago, but now that my son will be going to college, I have time to improve my English and continue my studies,” Puente said.

Peconic Bay Zonta is affiliated with Zonta International, a nonprofit organization that seeks to build a better world for women and girls.