Evan Spagnoletti & Evelyn Benitez Capture Twin Scholarships
July 31, 2023
Huntington High School Class of 2023 members Evan Spagnoletti and Evelyn Benitez captured the first ever Palacios Family Scholarships. The twin $2,500 awards were presented at the senior scholarships and awards ceremony in the auditorium.
Seniors applying for the scholarship were required to demonstrate leadership and community service within the Huntington Station Latinx community; be enrolled in a two or four year college program leading to a degree and have an 85 or better academic grade average.
Xavier and Laura Palacios were on hand to announce the inaugural award recipients and present the twin scholarships before a crowd of about 300. Mr. Palacios was a member of Huntington’s Class of 1988 and is currently the Huntington School Board president.
Mr. Spagnoletti will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Ms. Benitez is headed to Molloy University in Rockville Centre.
A College Board National Hispanic Scholar, Mr. Spagnoletti has been recruited to swim on the University of Pennsylvania’s NCAA Division I team. He intends to major in biology with minors in hospital management and neuroscience. “With this unique track, I will be able to graduate with a degree from the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences and then continue on to a career in either the medical field or hospital administration,” he said. “I plan to one day become the CEO of a hospital and help out those in need by bringing equity into the healthcare world.”
Evan Spagnoletti
A five-time All-State swimmer, Mr. Spagnoletti volunteered to play on Huntington High School’s varsity Unified basketball team, patiently and lovingly working with a variety of co-ed players with special needs and moderate to severe disabilities who nevertheless thoroughly enjoy participating in the Blue Devil athletic program.
Treasurer of Huntington’s Science and Math Honor Societies, the teenager is the founder and president of Operation Thanksgiving. Despite various entities striving to meet the needs of families at Thanksgiving, Mr. Spagnoletti was worried they would fall short, so he took matters into his own hands, organizing a food drive, motivating classmates and community members to donate and collaborating with the Huntington High School principal to meet the goal of collecting hundreds of items and getting the goods into the hands of those who needed it the most.
Mr. Spagnoletti even captured honors from the International Music & Arts Society for his piano solo at Lincoln Center. A First Star Leader for his church, the teenager raked leaves for the elderly, painted the church and led younger kids in team building activities.
The Huntington senior participated in a two week summer research intern program at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, engaging in experiments with college professors and lab scientists.
The founder of NHC (Noah’s Camp Box), Mr. Spagnoletti collaborated with the Helping Hand Rescue Mission on a multi-year community service project focused on the distribution of STEM toys to underprivileged children in the local community.
A Huntington High School New World club mentor, Mr. Spagnoletti has volunteered to work with English as a new language students who recently immigrated to the United States and Huntington UFSD. He has helped in ENL classrooms and mentored one-on-one to help students successfully assimilate into the high school.
During his high school swimming career, Mr. Spagnoletti has been All-County in six separate events and All-Long Island and All-State in four different events. He helped lead Huntington to the 2022 Suffolk team championship.
An Advanced Placement Scholar, Mr. Spagnoletti is the recipient of the President’s Award for Educational Excellence.
Evelyn Benitez
A determined, hardworking and thoughtful young woman, Ms. Benitez has excelled in her studies. The teenager is an active member of her church where she leads the worship team and the youth ministry. While at Huntington High School, she participated in the United Amigos club, the county champion mock trial team, the New World club and the Spanish Honor Society.
Born in the United States, Ms. Benitez’s parents immigrated to America from El Salvador. “Throughout my four year of high school, I have stayed determined to do the best that I can in all that I do to stay connected with my Hispanic community,” the new Huntington alum said. “As I love to keep my academic grades to a perfect standard and push myself to be the best version of myself, that also includes involving myself in spaces where not only I can improve, but others can benefit from it as well.”
Ms. Benitez’s faith and church play a large role in her daily life, especially through the youth ministry, where she is able to help young people “strengthen their beliefs” as well as providing them with a “helping hand in their times of trouble.”
“Being involved in the New World club has been an amazing experience because every member of the club was assigned a new student who came from Latin America and migrated to the US. The club was in need of students who could volunteer as a helping hand toward the new students who were being welcomed into a new environment. I was assigned to a student who didn’t know much English and struggled to understand the school and classes. I was able to show the student around the school and help him with the language whenever we both had a free class. I would also review the class material and answer any questions. I really enjoy volunteering and involving myself in whatever is needed to make a better community.”
