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Graduate of Sam Presti's leadership program provides optimism during coronavirus pandemic

Kandy Hunt knew she had to find a way to get high school senior Dylan Ruiz into the Forward Thinking Leadership Development Program.

The program had only accepted sophomores and juniors since Thunder general manager Sam Presti founded it in 2011. Hunt, a U.S. Grant High School assistant principal, had been involved from the beginning, so she knew that full well.

That’s why she sent in a video from former El Paso Rep. Beto O'Rourke’s visit to U.S. Grant this past fall. The video showed Ruiz delivering a touching story about his immigration to the United States.