Hunter Emanus is a second generation Cuban immigrant and a student at Gloucester High School.

Hunter’s mother, Jacqueline Fortun, was born in the small Cuban fishing town of La Fe. She lived there until boarding one of the first freedom flights in 1969. Once she arrived in Miami, she had to make a life for herself and decided to join the U.S. Army as an air traffic controller. It was there she met her future husband, Christopher Emanus.

Hunter Emanus tries to stay in touch with his Cuban heritage by learning Spanish and making regular trips to Cuba visiting family. Hunter’s parents have made a great deal of effort to instruct Hunter on the values that got them where they are. They taught him to play the role of student first, athlete second and community member third.

He credits this advice for getting him to the achieved positions he holds today and the accomplished positions he hopes to achieve tomorrow.

Both Emanus’s father and grandfather, Walter Emanus, were ...