Before Mari Ruiz Hernandez gave up the microphone at Wednesday’s Poughkeepsie City School District Board of Education meeting, she used her platform to convey a message:
“I want you to know that autism is not a disability,” the Dutchess BOCES student from Poughkeepsie said, “It’s a different ability.”
Ruiz Hernandez, a student in BOCES’ PEACCE Program hosted at Red Hook High School, was named BOCES’ Student of Distinction for April and honored at the meeting.
The 21-year-old is also a part of BOCES’ work-based learning program and attends several integrated classes.
“Mari is an exceptional, bright and determined student, who brings positivity and motivation to school every day. She arrives with enthusiasm and genuinely strives to meet expectations in social, emotional, academic and job-development skills,” Meg Buckland, BOCES’ director of alternative and special education, said at the meeting in a statement Board Member Fatima Carmen Martinez Santiago translated on the spot in order for Ruiz Hernandez’s parents and others to also enjoy. “She shows great respect for both her teachers and classmates, contributing to a positive learning environment.”
Ruiz Hernandez said she enjoys learning about math, reading, art, Spanish and history, and praised her food science and physical education classes. In her free time likes to write stories featuring characters she created – “Soleo and Friends.”
Through the work study program, Ruiz Hernandez has worked at Hannaford and Williams Lumber in Rhinebeck, folding clothes, bagging groceries and stocking products on shelves.
“I love working at Williams Lumber and Hannaford because it teaches me to be responsible and to work hard,” she said.
Buckland said Ruiz Hernandez’s “dedication and hard work” is in inspiration to her peers.
“Guided by core values, such as honesty, faith, respect, gratitude, humility, compassion, kindness and love, Mari approaches her daily decisions with wisdom and confidence,” Buckland said.
Ruiz Hernandez was appreciative of the Student of Distinction honor.
“I want to thank my teachers, my counselor, administrators, my mom, my stepdad and my job coach for always being there for me because they’re the light of the world,” she said.