“My Latino heritage means being a part of something bigger than myself. My whole life, I’ve grown up with a big Latino family, so nothing you do is just a representation of you, it’s also a representation of them,” Marrero said. “It means making them proud, but also being proud of my culture and where I come from. My heritage isn’t just something that pushes me to work hard in sports, it’s something that makes me who I am.”
For Burgos Jr., he feels his Latino heritage has shaped who he is as a person and how he connects with both classmates and teammates.
“My heritage means a lot to me. It’s not just something I talk about or the way I act, but something that is in me and shapes who I am every day. Most of my personality and the way I talk comes from being Latino. It’s helped me connect with teammates and kids at school,” Burgos Jr. said.
After high school, Burgos Jr. plans to attend the University at Buffalo for four years and Marrero plans to pursue a degree in special education and political science with a dream goal of going to law school to become a disability rights and education lawyer.