Every year Cabrini College honors the College’s founder, Sr. Ursula Infante, MSC (1897-2001), through a day-long ceremony called ‘Founder’s Day.’ During this ceremony, the College recognizes students who have demonstrated dedication to their community through service and volunteerism – an essential dimension of the Cabrini College experience.
This year, thirteen Cabrini Coll
ege students and the three Cabrini Mission Corps missioners – Ashley Block, Vanessa Miranda and Morgan Perry – were honored with the Presidential Service Award for their commitment to civic engagement and volunteerism through community service.
The Student Disability Service Award was given to student Francis X. Cornely ’16 who has dedicated his time to focus on issues related to disabilities.
Also conferred were the Pierce Fellow awards, which were given to five students who spent time working alongside other community groups to address issues of hunger and food insecurity.
In addition to this annual recognition of Cabrini College students, each Founder’s Day, Cabrini invites an accomplished individual who has demonstrated the vision of Sr. Ursula to deliver a keynote address. This year, the keynote was given by current Director of Development for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Chandreyee Banerjee.
Ms. Banerjee has served as the Director of Tsunami Response following the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004, and most recently was the Country Representative for Turkey and Syria, overseeing programming in response to the refugee crisis in the region. During her presentation, Ms. Banerjee shared her experiences on working with Syrian refugees and her efforts to provide them with the essential necessities to ensure their well-being.
The Cabrini College community is grateful to Ms. Banerjee for her inspirational message and to the students for their enthusiastic engagement in changing the world for the better. The College remains especially thankful for their founder, Mother Ursula, for her vision, perseverance and dedication in founding a College so rooted in service to others.