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Nydia Margarita Velázquez (born March 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican politician who has served in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. Velázquez, a Democrat from New York, is the first Puerto Rican woman to be elected to Congress, and she was the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3, 2011. Her district, located in New York City, was numbered the from 1993 to 2013 and has been numbered the since 2013. ==Early life, education and career== Velázquez, whose father worked the sugar cane fields, was one of nine siblings born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. During her upbringing, political dinner conversations were commonplace. Her father was a local political activist and she would accompany him to political rallies, starting at a young age. Her father focused on the rights of sugar cane workers and denounced the abuses of wealthy farmers.〔(Hispanic Americans in Congress )〕 After skipping a grade, she entered high school when she was 13. While a student, she organized a protest to draw attention to the school's dangerous and unsanitary conditions. The protest resulted in the school temporarily closing down so that the necessary renovations could be made. At age 16, Velázquez enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. In 1974, she graduated ''magna cum laude'' and became the first member of her family to receive a college degree. She then went to New York City to attend New York University, where she received a scholarship to study political science. In 1976, she received her Master's degree.〔 Velázquez was a professor, first at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao from 1976 to 1981, and then at New York's Hunter College from 1981 until 1983.〔 Throughout her career, Velázquez has been an advocate of many Latino rights programs and associations. During her tenure as the Director of the Department of Puerto Rican Community Affairs in the United States, Velázquez initiated one of the most successful Latino empowerment programs in the nation’s history - "Atrévete" (Dare to Go for It!). She taught Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and became the first Latina woman to serve on the New York City Council. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nydia Velázquez」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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