Jean Franco Vergaray, winner of I AM THIS LAND contest

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Jean Franco Vergaray is the director and lead editor of “Role Call,” the winning video in Breakthrough’s I AM THIS LAND video contest. In January 2011, Breakthrough put out a national call to young people to make a video on diversity, giving youth the opportunity to creatively express their views on building a society that values dignity, equality, and justice. Vergeray was part of a team of students and alumni from Flushing International High School (FIHS) in Queens, NY who created the winning video, “Role Call,” an MTV-style video of a student in class who, through daydreams, explores gender, cultural expression, and racial stereotypes. The video has been viewed by thousands, was featured on the New York Times website, and is being used across the country as a teaching tool on diversity. Vergaray, 20, graduated FIHS in 2009, and was active in developing school programs such as the Gay Straight Alliance to promote respect and equality for LGBTQ youth when he was a student at the high school. Originally from Peru, he lives in East Elmhurst, NY, and is a budding filmmaker, dancer, and chef. He dances and performs at the Mambo Bravo dance studio and is in the process of launching his own freelance film-editing business in New York.