Boston College bound teacher-to-be is Seinfeld Scholar

Recent Long Island City High School graduate James Huerta has been taking advantage of all the educational opportunities presented to him and plans to spend his future giving back in the educational field as a teacher.
Huerta, a resident of Astoria, was a member of the yearbook committee at his school and spent time assisting in the science department, ESL department and the Dean’s office.
Through his membership in the National Honor Society, Huerta has also been highly active in performing community service. As a student at Long Island City High School, he was involved in fundraising efforts to benefit the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Students went around their neighborhood asking for donations and also held a trivia challenge event.
Huerta was also part of a fundraiser for the Common Cents Organization, which uses the money to establish programs in the community that residents say are needed.
In seventh grade, Huerta began taking Tae kwon do classes. Once he had earned his brown belt, he started assisting with instructing other classes on Saturdays while continuing with his own studies of it during the week.
Huerta also took part in the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) Program, which assists students with college preparation. Of those who apply, only about five percent are accepted. Huerta said that, as a sophomore, he took classes at Columbia University, followed by ones at New York University as a junior in high school. This past summer, he also spent a week taking workshops at Princeton to conclude his participation in LEDA.
“I think it was an opportunity that opened a lot of doors for me,” Huerta said. “I would not be attending Boston College if it weren’t for LEDA.”
Huerta was recently selected as one of 15 Queens high school students to receive a Seinfeld Scholarship, which will pay for his education at Boston College and is coordinated by the PENCIL organization. He said he thought it was amazing that he had been chosen as a recipient and added that it has taken a huge burden off of his shoulders.
Huerta’s family, particularly his parents, and the sacrifices they have made have motivated him throughout his life. He went on to say that his father, who came to the United States to work and started out as a dishwasher at a restaurant, has been his biggest inspiration. He said that his father has always sacrificed for his family and continues to have a drive to keep going.
Now that he has finished with his high school studies, Huerta will go on to study secondary education at Boston College with the intention of becoming a math teacher.
“Being the first one [in my family] to go to college, I think that’s a big accomplishment,” he said, adding that so far it has been his proudest accomplishment. “It’s significant.”
Huerta said that, along with becoming a teacher, one of his goals is to “not only teach but be part of the education system.” Taking part in the LEDA Program has motivated Huerta to want to create his own college preparation program at some point in the future.