Emely Samantha Torres of Holy Spirit High School is the Philadelphia/New Jersey Regional Silver Medallion Youth Award recipient for Healthcare.   

Emely has been an active member in Medical Explores, a program where students attend meetings at local hospitals and learn various positions in the healthcare field and attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine last summer. She has volunteered with Little League Programs and Youth Summer Camp and still maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average. 

Emely, who describes her mother as “a strong-willed, awe-inspiring and unique presence that thrives within and is representative of her Puerto Rican culture,” holds her Hispanic heritage and its values near and dear to hear heart. She says “it is this value that pushes me to challenge myself and achieve academic excellence.”  

Emely feels her greatest success was being accepted to Ernest Mario College of Pharmacy at Rutgers University. She would like to do research and help find cures for diseases so that people can live better lives.