Our partner, John LoTurco, presented the second annual LoTurco-Palacios Oral Advocacy Scholarship to two recipients at Huntington High School on June 11, 2024.
This year's high school senior winners were Catherine Estrada-Morales and Reese Rinaldi. LoTurco presented each recipient with a scholarship check for $1,500 on behalf of himself and his long-time mock trial co-advisor, Xavier Palacios.
LoTurco’s son, Justin LoTurco, founded the acclaimed Huntington High School Mock Trial team in 2014, and they have since won three Suffolk County Championships, placed second in the New York State Championships twice, and have an overall winning percentage of approximately 90%.
In order for a Huntington High School student to be eligible to win the LoTurco-Palacios scholarship, they must demonstrate a strong commitment to their community through participation in activities such as Mock Trial, Moot Court, Model UN, Virtual Enterprise or Student Government. Each applicant must submit a written essay describing how they have utilized their oral advocacy skills to influence their community. After submitting their essays, a select few applicants were chosen to be interviewed by LoTurco and Palacios.
Catherine Estrada-Morales was Huntington High School’s Class President who founded her own charity to fund a food drive to send food and supplies to her family’s hometown in Guatemala. Catherine will be attending Binghamton University in the fall.
Reese Rinaldi was the captain of her lacrosse, basketball and soccer teams, and aspires to be an attorney and a community advocate. Reese was the CEO of her Virtual Enterprise team, she won first place for her National History Day project, and she will be attending the University of Florida in the fall.
Last year’s winner was Angie Hernandez-Ramos, who was the president of the Mock Trial team and named best oral advocate in Suffolk County. Angie utilized her scholarship in the amount of $2,500 towards her enrollment at Middlebury College in Vermont.
