Her mother, Terry Soto, who is half Puerto Rican, was raised both Jewish and Catholic, and said she wanted to let her daughters pick their own religion. At an early age, she exposed them to both Jewish and Catholic services at St. Raphael’s in East Meadow. Melina chose Judaism, and her two sisters followed. “I did not want them to experience what I had gone through,” Soto said. “Trying to please both parents, trying to figure out what religion I was going to be. I wanted them to be exposed and make the decision by themselves.”

For her next project in pursuit of her Gold Award, Melina is already planning a follow-up workshop next year, focusing on Jewish traditions and customs.

While she understands that her workshops will not effect change overnight, she said her goal is to simply encourage people to become more culturally sensitive. “[East Meadow] is so mixed and blended that we really should get to know each other,” she said. “You should get to know more about your neighbor or your friend.”