TIJUANA On Friday, President Felipe Calderón will present Mexico's top prize for youth to a Baja California teen-ager whose academic achievements have earned him top honors worldwide.
Raymundo Esquer Rodríguez, an 18-year-old from Mexicali, will receive the 2011 National Youth Prize in the academics category in Mexico City, the state's agency for youth announced Thursday.
"We're proud to be able to accompany Raymundo to receive this distinction, which puts our state once more on a national stage and underscores that our youth stand out in various areas for the benefit of our community," said the agency's director, Miguel Ángel Torres.
This is the latest award for Esquer. Last year, he won the 2010 State Youth Prize, which led to his nomination for the national prize.
Esquer is studying chemistry at the leading Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and he's twice won the National Chemistry Prize.
He also won third place in a competition in Japan and won a bronze medal at the 43rd International Chemistry Olympiad held last summer in Turkey.
"We have placed every year in the national competitions," Torres said. "We have people who have a lot of talent and who are committed to doing things right. That motivates to support young people even more."
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