Congratulations to senior Susana Juarez Rodriguez who was recognized by the Catholic Business Network of Northern Virginia (CBN-NOVA) in a short ceremony following the Bishop's Mass of the Holy Spirit at Bishop O'Connell yesterday morning. She is one of four diocesan high school winners of the 2016 YES Award (Youth Exemplifying Service).
Susana is a native of Monterrey, Mexico who came to the United States in 2000. In 2010, she became an American citizen but her heart carried a desire to help the impoverished in Mexico. With her sister, Cecilia, now a freshman at O'Connell, she collected supplies and monetary donations through social networking, classmates, neighbors and St. Joseph's School. They gathered over 150 pounds of school supplies, Christmas presents, and food and clothing to support over 500 children in more than 14 villages. Once all the items were collected, they packed up boxes and split up all the items depending on the amount of children in each village. With many suitcases in hand, she and her sister flew to her home city Monterrey, Mexico before taking a seven-hour bus ride with all the suitcases of supplies to distribute to the different communities. She calls the program "Diubujando sonrisas," which translates to "Drawing Smiles."
At Bishop O'Connell, Susana is involved in the school's Unity Council, and is looking forward to playing a role in the upcoming Hispanic Heritage assembly. She is also an accomplished artist who works primarily with acrylics and oils.
She continues to collect items for the people of Monterrey, and hopes to make a return trip again this winter.
Pictured above - Susana and Cecilia helped distribute donated items in Mexico last year.
Pictured below - YES Award winner is joined by her parents and CBN representatives. L to R: Rich Fanelli (CBN-NOVA President), Javier Juarez (father), Susana, Laura Rodriguez Juarez (mother), and Lucia Jason (CBN-NOVA Board Member and Founder of the YES Award).
