Delilah Recio participates in plenty of River Dell Clubs like Red Cross and American Cancer Society, along with earning important awards such as Archdiocesan Youth Discipleship Award Recipient in December 2024.
Delilah also enjoys writing and entered the New York Times Summer Academy for Opinion Writing with a scholarship and the Georgetown University’s Online Summer Program for Creative Writing.
Delilah explained, “The New York Times Summer Academy is given to students grades 10-12 where they can dive into specific areas of journalism from a notable newspaper organization. It’s competitive but also a great program for college, especially if you want to apply for a major related to English.”
“Personally, I’ve always loved journalism and writing since I enjoy interviewing and researching to conduct well-rounded articles. I joined the opinion writing program to help develop strong research and critical thinking skills. It also really helps students bring out their voice in their writing,” she added.
In this program, Delilah and other accepted students traveled to different locations that grants them firsthand insight into the workplace and newspapers that are successful in opinion writing like the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and the Social Justice Walk.
This program also comes with a scholarship based on the student’s grades and the paragraphs they write on why they want to apply. Luckily, Delilah was able to receive a $2500 scholarship to help afford the tuition.
Another sophomore, Kaylin Park, said, “When I first heard about Delilah’s involvement in the New York Times summer academy, I was surprised. I heard about those academies and programs but I was able to learn more about it from Delilah since we’re close friends.”
“It’s interesting to me because being enrolled in these courses mean improving your writing and gaining recognition, and getting many benefits from it,” continued Park.
Along with her acceptance of the New York Times academy, Delilah also received the Archdiocesan Youth Discipleship Award Recipient in December.
This award is given to high school students who help volunteer for their school community or parish community, showing leadership and faith. Delilah joined the St. Joseph’s Church for about 8 years and has showed enough dedication to win this award.
“It was enamoring to see that my hours and work paid off in a positive way after I received the award. It felt like such an honor. I’m glad people see the hard work I put in and also being apart of an outstanding group of teens who take their time to their community and faith.”
