In 2022, this alumna is recognized for her contribution to Sagrado’s mission of building a community that offers solidarity.
By Integrated Communications
In 2018, the Board of Trustees of Sagrado Corazón University instituted the Rosa Filipina Duchesne Medal to honor the life of service of those who, like her, crossed borders through service and whose multiplier capacity to help others moves people toward charity.
“In 2022, our alumna María Santiago Valentín will be recognized for her contribution to Sagrado’s mission of building an authentically Christian community, united in justice and peace.”
Gilberto Marxuach-Torros,
Sagrado president
María, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Languages and Literature from Sagrado in 1991, has made a career as an educator in the United States, fighting for the benefit of educators and incorporating language programs into the school curriculum.
In 2017, she founded the New Jersey Coalition for Climate Justice, an organization that brings together environmental and social justice movements. Through this entity, she helped people affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
In 2020, she was a pro-bono translator for environmental projects in Cameroon and the UK. In addition, she served for three years as the international president of the Ufunguo Development Project in Kenya, a project that educates the most disadvantaged citizens to be independent and self-sufficient. She has also volunteered as a writer of grant applications in institutions that denounce gender violence in Trinidad and Tobago.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she bought a sewing machine to make masks and send them wherever they were needed. The effort established a virtual community of some 500 donors globally.
Today, she volunteers for various organizations in New Jersey, ranging from environmental justice and multilingual education to children with special needs.
“Join us through sagrado.tv on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at 6:30 p.m., in this great celebration to recognize an exemplary life lived in service to others,” concluded Marxuach-Torrós.