More than 200 students gather in San Antonio for community equity building-focused Texas LDZ

More than 200 students, predominantly hailing from across Texas but from as far as Puerto Rico and Mexico, gathered in San Antonio from July 20 to 27 for the 2025 edition of the Texas Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session — NHI’s flagship program with more than 40 years of history behind it.  

The LDZ program brings participants together for an unforgettable and immersive eight-day program, where they run for offices in executive, legislative, and judicial positions, and then embark on a three-day legislative session authoring and passing resolutions aimed at improving their communities. While it’s an ambitious annual exercise in learning public policy, it’s also a vehicle allowing students to understand core NHI ideas about leadership and growth.  

Briana Zavala, co-educational director for the program, got a unique perspective on this year’s students for an unfortunate reason — the death of her grandfather, which necessitated her leaving the program during the legislative session portion of the program, entrusting co-educational director George Nicolas Rodriguez and other senior staffers to steer the program.

That allowed her to see the LDZ students’ transformation in a whole new way.

“I saw the before, when they were all strangers, and they were working to really understand the concepts of NHI,” she said. “Specifically, community equity building, learning how to define community, asking themselves questions, trying to learn about each other and different areas that they’re from, and their experiences.

“I saw them run for elections, and so I saw that beginning process, and … I saw them going in the right direction, but who knows?” she added. “Because once they’re in their respective positions, that’s when the real work happens.”

When she returned from two days away, she noted how far along they’d come.  

“You all actually have been working, and you have been listening, and you have been failing forward, as we like to say,” she observed. “And it was interesting this time around to see that the magic still happened and the program still went on.”

This year’s Texas LDZ was hosted by Trinity University, which Zavala felt was an ideal partner.

“Trinity was a fabulous, fabulous host,” she said. “I have nothing but great reviews for them. It was our first time there … and I feel like we are beginning that relationship.”

The program also got attention from KSAT-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio, which covered the event and spoke to participants about their experiences.

“What I’m getting from this experience the most is that I know I can be a winner, I can be a leader,” said Ana Macchiarella of Academia Maria Reina in San Juan, Puerto Rico, elected Lieutenant Governor.

“I’m not typically the most talkative person, but I feel like I’ve genuinely made a lot of good connections here through conversation,” said Roman Ciardiello of Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jessica Hernandez Rivera, of Longview High School in Longview, Texas, was one of two resolution authors to see a resolution passed by the body. She found out about the Texas LDZ from a friend in Austin, and even though she’d never done anything like an NHI program before, her interest in advocacy led her to try it out.

“I’ve always felt as though I’m a confident speaker, but confident in the way of knowing that the content that I’m speaking about is correct and or has been analyzed to every extent,” she said. “However, I’m not confident in certain delivery aspects, so the Texas LDZ helped me get out there more and to be able to articulate every single point that I wanted to make, and that’s ultimately what I was recognized for.”

She recalls, at one point, being gathered with all the participants and being unfamiliar with the jargon being used.

“So, I was extremely confused, but then I realized, oh, wait, nobody else knows. I’m completely okay. We’re all learning together. And to me, that was something that I really appreciated, and something that was completely unexpected — you get thrown into the water, but ultimately, with the help of your colleagues and your peers, you can make it.”

Top honors

Award winners at the program included:

House of Representatives

Most Distinguished Representative

Leandron Hernandez, Mathis High School, Mathis, Texas

Most Persuasive Representative

Selamir Trevino, Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio, Texas

Best Debater

Yamil Medina, Allen High School, Allen, Texas

Outstanding Legislator

Neva Rincon, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, Houston, Texas

Best Author of a Resolution

Elena Carranza, Summit High School, Summit, New Jersey

Senate

Most Distinguished Senator

Kingston Moore-Aguayo, Shelton School, Dallas, Texas

Most Persuasive Senator

Jessica Hernandez Rivera, Longview High School, Longview, Texas

Best Debater

Elena Metoyer, Atascocita High School, Humble, Texas

Outstanding Legislator

David Arroyo, South Texas ISD Science Academy, Mercedes, Texas

Best Author of a Resolution

Lotty Mata Carmona, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Saltillo, Saltillo, Mexico

Supreme Court and Attorneys

Chief Justice

Elena Viruet Reverón, Academia Maria Reina, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Justices

• Valentina Aguinaga, John Paul ll High School, Plano, Texas
• Padme Diaz de Leon. Instituto Leones, León, Mexico
• Nicole Kock, TMI Episcopal, San Antonio, Texas
• Alberto Macher, Cistercian Preparatory School, Irving, Texas
• Sofia Ramos, St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School, Austin, Texas
• Sofia Salinas, Eagle Pass High School, Eagle Pass, Texas
• Thomas Schmidt, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus León, León, Mexico
• Sydney Wade, IB World School at Plano East High School, Plano, Texas

Outstanding Member of the Court (including Attorneys)

Lucas Garcia, IDEA Weslaco, Weslaco, Texas

Best Orator (Attorney)

Riya Hernandez, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, Houston, Texas

Top Attorney Team:

• Emi Wong Shing, Germantown Friends High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Lia Araiza Ortiz, W.B. Ray High School, Corpus Christi, Texas

Top Elected and Appointed Officials

Speaker of the House

Maren Stokes, James Bowie High School, Austin, Texas

Lieutenant Governor

Ana Macchiarella, Academia Maria Reina, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Governor

Bryce Leal, Mathis High School, Mathis, Texas

Cabinet Members:

• Emelia Caldera, Mathis High School, Mathis, Texas
• Jackson Erb, Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Connecticut
• Sophie Estrada, Plano Academy High School, Plano, Texas
• Brooklyn Kuenstler, Cotulla High School, Cotulla, Texas
• Pablo Medina, Cistercian Preparatory School, Irving, Texas
• Kaylen Peña, Weslaco High School, Weslaco, Texas

Authors of Passed Resolutions

• Jessica Hernandez Rivera, Longview High School, Longview, Texas (“Open Space”)
• Alyssa Rodriguez, Jubilee Academy San Antonio, San Antonio (“Small Business, Big Hearts”)

Special Awards

Most Promising Leaders

• Allen Hobbs, St. Joseph Academy, Brownsville, Texas
• Sofia Singer, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida

Ricky Miranda Memorial Award

This award is named for an early NHIer who tragically died in a car accident while in college; it is awarded to a student who, in the face of adversity, stays hopeful, stays grounded, and never stops believing in their ability to grow.

• JJ Garza, Mercedes Early College Academy, Mercedes, Texas

The Texas LDZ was made possible in part by support from the Bezos Family Foundation and Walmart.