As Houston celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board are honoring five exemplary Houstonians, which includes a current HISD student and former Board of Education trustee at the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Awards. The awards will be live streamed on the Houston Municipal Channel (HTV) and the City of Houston’s social media pages at 6:30 p.m. Thursday Oct. 14.

DeBakey High School’s David Dzul will receive the 2021 Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Youth Activist Award. He serves as the co-president and co-founder of DeBakey Civics. DeBakey Civics is an organization that provides its members with real-world experience to become leaders in their communities.  Dzul also took part in a fellowship as a Youth Organizer with Mi Familia Vota, as he was tasked to as head researcher for educational senate and house bills in Texas’ 87th Legislative Session. Dzul has aided in many other campaigns like Mi Familia Vota’s voter registration drives, Census outreach, participates in the Rice University Youth Civic Engagement Research and Advocacy Internship, Harvard International Socioeconomic Laboratory Fellowship, and is a member of the Mayor’s Youth Council.

This year’s Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Dr. Sergio Lira.  During his time as a HISD trustee, Lira provided support for parents from over 30 schools and continues to present to over 150 new teachers at the University of Houston School of Education twice a year for free.

 “These individuals’ unwavering commitment to the community truly captures the selfless spirit that all Houstonians should seek to emulate,” Turner said in a news release.