RADNOR, Pa. (May 2, 2018)—Honoring a passion to serve, Cabrini celebrated five students who served as Pierce Fellows in 2017-18, completing a year of extensive community-based service and a focus on social justice.
The students were recognized in collaboration with the Leo and Peggy Pierce Family Foundation during an event honoring the Fellows.
Awarded each year, the Pierce Fellow Program trains and empowers students to initiate and run programs that connect Cabrini departments, offices, and groups to off‑campus organizations.
Each fellow focuses his or her work on issues of hunger and food insecurity. This year's recipients included
- Kristina Pilat, a Cabrini junior and Social Work major, who worked with Cabrini Cupboard, a University resource available for students who are having difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day and feel that it might affect their performance in the classroom.
- Brenda Cabrera Vicens, a Cabrini junior and Biology major, who worked with Martha’s Cupboard, a food bank in Norristown run by Catholic Social Services.
- Marisa Christensen, Cabrini senior and Exercise Science and Health Promotion major, who supported research and courses around hunger and food insecurity with Maria Elena Hallion, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor of Exercise Science and Health Promotion.
- Catherine Fazio, a Cabrini junior and PreK–4 Education major worked with the Food Recovery Network, an organization the unites students on college campuses to fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste from their campuses and communities and donating it to people in need. This April, Fazio helped host the organization’s first Philly-based regional event at Cabrini as President of the University's FRN Chapter.
- Daisy Rodriguez , a Cabrini sophomore and History and Political Science major who also worked with the Food Recovery Network, an organization the unites students on college campuses to fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste from their campuses and communities and donating it to people in need. As Vice President of Cabrini's FRN Chapter, Rodriguez helped host the FRN's Summit at Cabrini University.
- Nia Alvarez-Mapp, a Cabrini junior and English and Philosophy major, who focused her work on food insecurity education.
The Fellows work in collaboration with the Wolfington Center and have the opportunity to apply for funding for their programs in addition to their tuition credit and project stipend.
Candidates were selected for their leadership experience; demonstration of Cabrini’s core values and Education of the Heart; care for people in communities that are at risk because of economic status, access to educational opportunities, or physical of health status, and application of their interest and concern in coursework, employment, or community service.
For further details on the fellowship, visit Cabrini Pierce Fellows.
Above (L-R): Marisa Christensen ('18), Nia Alvarez-Mapp ('19), Brenda Cabrera Vicens ('19), Catherine Fazio ('19), and Daisy Rodriguez ('20).
About Cabrini University
Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cabrini University is a Catholic institution that empowers students to become advocates of social change through an Education of the Heart, focusing on academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership development.
Cabrini enrolls approximately 1,650 undergraduates in more than 35 majors, pre-professional programs, concentrations, and minors on its serene 112-acre campus located 30 minutes from Philadelphia. The University also enrolls 800 students in graduate, doctoral, and professional studies programs at its main campus in Radnor, PA, and at five off-campus locations.