Oscar was born in the Dominican Republic, and came to Boston at the age of three. He credits his family and Bilingual Education for being fluent and literate in Spanish. He lives in Roxbury with his parents, two older brothers, and a younger sister. Oscar has always been a high achiever academically; in his junior year he was awarded the prestigious St. Anselm’s Book Award. In class, Oscar may seem quiet and reserved, but don’t be fooled; he is actually vivacious, talkative, and very self-confident outside of school.
One of Oscar’s many career options is the study of law. Oscar currently works in the law office of Edward Hintlian, a BLS alumnus. His job has helped him see the many aspects of law and is considering immigration law to help the thousands of illegal aliens who need citizenship.
Although far from being a radical, Oscar is very interested in politics. As a student at the Harvard Summer School in 2002, he took a course in government and was suddenly aware of the many ways, (some successful, some not) that local and federal government try to reform and serve an increasingly distrustful public.
In his junior year, Oscar decided to try his hand at journalism. He started out as a Copy Editor, but to everyone’s surprise (including his own), he was appointed Sports Editor of the school newspaper, the Argo, for the 2003-04 school year. A diehard Red Sox fan, Oscar has his fingers crossed and promises that, indeed, this is the year. A witty and accomplished writer, Oscar has had his work published in the Boston Herald. At BLS, he submits pieces regularly to The Register, the school’s literary magazine (though his dedication to Argo still reigns supreme) and often writes lengthy essays for his A.P. Composition class.
Oscar is interested in many different activities, but they pale in comparison to his all-consuming passion for languages. As he maintains fluency in English and Spanish, Oscar has demonstrated his astonishing gift for linguistics with his jump from Latin II to AP Latin Vergil and his near-perfect score in Italian, which he taught himself in two weeks. He translates Latin as effortlessly and fluidly as he writes English, and, to the bewilderment of his friends, actually seems to enjoy it. At the age of 16, Oscar is fluent in three languages (English, Spanish, Latin) and more than proficient in another, Italian. Oscar is also an unabashed Italophile and loves the art, music, food, and rolling l sounds of Italy. He plans to visit there during college to truly experience Rome, Venice, and Florence for himself.
Oscar often helps his fellow classmates by correcting their Spanish papers and tutoring at the Saturday Success School. He also has an extensive collection of test-preparation books to aid him for the SATs and his dream to go to Harvard College. In his spare time, Oscar makes frequent trips to East Boston and likes to watch movies and spend time with friends.
Oscar will be a senior in September of 2003. Oscar has high ambitions for college as well as his future, and he hopes that the Ward Fellowship will help him explore his many career interests.
Oscar’s sponsor is Jarrett Barrios.