Wesleyan hosted the 7th annual National Dominican Student Conference March 29-31. More than 390 students attended including 50 Wesleyan students. The conference’s theme was “social justice.”
A panel shared several “Dominican Success Stories” at the Memorial Chapel. From left, Dan-el Padilla Peralta, a fourth-year Ph.D candidate in classics at Stanford University; Maria Santana Guadalupe ’98, a New York correspondent for CNN en Español; Angela Fernandez, the executive director for Northern Manhattan’s Coalition for Immigrant Rights; and Sonia BasSheva Mañjon, vice president for institutional partnerships and chief diversity officer at Wesleyan. The four panelists talked about why they succeeded: curiosity, education, mentoring and not accepting “no” for an answer.Sonia Mañjon, at left, speaks with guests at the conference. Mañjon is the first person of color to be a vice president at Wesleyan. “Networking is the way it happens for all of us,” she said.Maria Santana Guadalupe ’98 speaks to participants at the National Dominican Students Conference after her participation in the panel. She advised students to network and find mentors. “If you see someone who is doing what you want to do, reach out and connect! Ask how they got there,” she said.Eury German ’16 hung balloons along the way between Beckham Hall and Memorial Chapel, marking the pathway for participants in the National Dominican Students Conference. German is a member of WesQuisqueya, Wesleyan’s Dominican Student Association. The student organization hosted and organized the national conference. (Photos by Cynthia Rockwell)
Cynthia Rockwell
James Sims
Editorial Staff
Ziba Kashef