NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The College of New Rochelle (CNR) celebrated its annual Feast Day of Saint Angela Merici with a Mass at The Holy Family Chapel on Thursday, January 29, 2015. Following the Mass, four College of New Rochelle students received Ursuline Student Service Recognition Awards for their contributions to both the College and local communities.
Dr. Helen M. Wolf, Director of Campus Ministry at CNR, praised the students’ efforts. “The Student Service Recognition Award, a national award, is presented to students who have been of service to their communities both locally and abroad. They exhibit strong leadership, courage, ingenuity, and compassion. They have made significant contributions to the betterment of our world and are living testimony to the value of an Ursuline education.”
Jessica Jawahar SN‘15
Jessica served as the vice president of CNR’s Student Nurses Association (SNA), coordinating activities and fundraising for the SNA’s participation in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and the Westchester division’s Breast Cancer Walk at Manhattanville College. In addition, Jessica took an active leadership role in a “Skills Party” hosted by the SNA to prepare nursing students in their first semester for their clinical practicum where she volunteered to show lowerclassman nursing care.
Jessica noted, “It’s important not only to raise funds for a cause but to join the community and show support for each other.”
Meghan King SAS‘15
As co-captain of the volleyball team, Meghan organized the team’s activities to contribute funds to support Dig Pink for Breast Cancer and Dig Purple for Domestic Violence. For the Special Olympics at CNR, Meghan organized the student volunteers for the volleyball and basketball games and welcomed and registered each group of athletes as they arrived. Meghan also volunteered as a buddy at the Hudson Valley Special Olympics 2014 Spring Games held at Sleepy Hollow High School. Lastly, Meghan regularly serves as a Eucharistic Minister at College liturgies and encourages teammates and peers to become active members of the CNR worshipping community.
“The service projects have made me realize how much I have to be thankful for and showed me that I can make a difference in the lives of people in my community,” said Meghan.
Vivian Rosario SNR‘16
In 2014, Vivian participated in the CNR Plunge Service Trip to Haiti (sponsored by the College’s Office of Campus Ministry, The Office of Black Ministry of the New York Archdiocese, and Zanmi Sasye- PartnerswithSassier.org, which brings aid to the Sassier area) to establish the first library at College Pierre Toussaint, a secondary school in rural western Haiti. After the Plunge, Vivian facilitated a book drive to donate additional books to College Pierre Toussaint. Vivian returned to Haiti alone in August 2014 to visit an orphanage and donate clothing, school supplies, and toys to the children in the Port-Au-Prince community. Currently, Vivian is working to organize a program in which homeless students from the Bronx can travel to Haiti to perform service work with Haitian students.
“The initial trip had an enormous impact on my life, so much so that I decided to study the underdevelopment of Third World countries to further my knowledge of the plight faced by people in developing countries,” shared Vivian.
Tazmin Uddin GS‘15
Tazmin participated in a fundraiser and served as an intern for Turning Point, a nonprofit organization in Queens that serves Muslim women and children who are victims of domestic violence, providing information to clients and helping to facilitate the children’s group. Through her affiliation with the Islamic Center at NYU she participated in a Fastathon to raise awareness and funds to aid water scarcity in West Africa, for SMILE Women’s Fund which provides assistance to women facing extreme hardship, and to help raise funds to rebuild Gaza. Lastly, as a peer minister with the College’s Office of Campus Ministry, Tazmin raised awareness on multiple social justice issues including hunger, poverty, and homelessness.
Tazmin explained, “I was told, it should never be about what you will lose, but what others will gain and I am trying to live that.”
The College of New Rochelle annually celebrates the Feast of St. Angela Merici, the patron saint of The College of New Rochelle, on or near January 27, the anniversary of Angela’s death in 1540. In 1535, Angela formed the Company of St. Ursula, a group comprised of 28 women who dedicated their lives in service to the poor in Italy. Eventually, this Company of Women became a religious order of nuns, the Ursuline Sisters. It was the Ursuline Sisters who founded The College of New Rochelle in 1904.