NHI honors more graduating seniors with NHI Decision Day Instagram posts

The National Hispanic Institute created NHI Decision Day (and the #NHIDecisionDay hashtag) to honor graduating seniors, inviting them to post on their own platforms. This year, NHI honored a number of the students by making a series of Instagram posts in coordination with them. NHI, in recognizing the unusual circumstances this year, is extending the holiday through the entire month of June, giving graduating seniors who haven’t yet shared their plans to do so.

There’s also a new emerging tradition, #NHISeniorSpeechSunday, that allows graduating seniors to share their thoughts, that’s been integrated into the Decision Day practice.

As we noted in our previous article, the announcements provide evidence of what NHI’s Alma Raymer characterizes as “perseverance and grit” from the students who have weathered both the usual high school obstacles plus those brought about by the pandemic and transitions to online education.

NHI parents know this all too well. Phil West, who does media relations and consulting for NHI, watched his son Noah Castillo-West — an NHI alumnus — graduate from McCallum High School in Austin, Texas while subsequently grappling with a choice between three universities. He trained at the 2017 Texas Star Great Debate and the 2019 Texas CWS, and his NHI experiences helped him achieve success in his application process. And yet, he had to factor in the changing economic climate in his ultimate decision to choose the University of New Mexico. He ultimately chose it over another contender, though one that would have required him to find work in a landscape of high unemployment rates and economic uncertainty.

As West noted, “We had to have difficult discussions that went beyond the typical comparison of pros and cons in determining what the best option was for him to grow and develop. In the end, UNM’s belief in Noah—and the scholarship they offered him to express that belief—was crucial in his decision to become a Lobo.”

The following Instagram posts don’t show what went into these NHI students’ decisions, but they do show the importance of the commitment, and hint at the underlying emotions of joy, excitement, and relief in telling the world, “This is where I’m going to take my next step as a leader.”

We’ll share more posts a little later in the month — which could include yours if you post to social media using the #NHIDecisionDay hashtag.