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June 10, 2009

LHS graduate Alma Huerta has big dreams - and a full scholarship to Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.

By Stephenie Livingston, Reporter The Suwannee Democrat Wed Jun 10, 2009, 01:06 PM EDT

Growing up in a small town hasn't stopped 17-year-old Alma Huerta from dreaming big. Huerta, co-valedictorian for the Lafayette High Class of 2009, has earned a full scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She plans to study political science and foreign relations at the Walt School of Foreign Service. She'll minor in linguistics and focus on Romance languages, such as French and Italian.

Georgetown isn't an easy school to get into. Huerta, however, is up to the task. She says reads incessantly.

"I read anything and everything, from Japanese Magna comics to re-reading the Iliad...again," Huerta said recently.

She also plays soccer and was a member of Future Business Leaders of America in high school. She won first place at the FBLA state competition for a business ethics project in which she participated. At LHS she also participated in drama, chorus and music.

Huerta is the daughter of Luis and Tomasa Huerta of Mayo. Her mother, Tomasa Huerta, is a custodian for Lafayette public schools. Alma has three siblings, Sonia, Maria and Luis. Tomasa and Luis are sad that the youngest of their family is moving so far away, but they're confident she will succeed.

Huerta, born in Mexico, is proud of her heritage.

"When my friends brag about what they have, I always say, 'Oh, well I have a green card,'" she said. "They ask me if it's really green and I have to disappoint them and say, no." She is also a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mayo.

Upon graduating Georgetown she hopes to become either a diplomat or an ambassador. She would also like to work in the field of immigration or with the United Nations.

"I'm sad to leave Mayo because it's been my home for so long. I'm excited to see how I'll do outside of it, though," Huerta said. "I've always had my eye on the prize. Getting into Georgetown makes it all worth it."

Given her accomplishments, Huerta remains humble. "I'm really not that interesting," Huerta said modestly. "My thing is, I'm the ‘smart girl.’"

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