Prof. Nelson Cardona, of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez nabbed the “Educator of the Year, Higher Ed” award from the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, which through its STAR Awards seeks to recognize key contributors in the Hispanic community in the fields of science, technology, math and engineering (STEM).
Puerto Rico isn’t a country, so unlike most of its English-speaking Caribbean neighbors, it doesn’t have an embassy in Washington. And it’s not a state either, so it can’t send to Congress the eight lawmakers — two senators and six representatives — its population of 3.7 million would warrant under statehood.