The Hostos Community College family came together to celebrate its namesake’s 184th birthday on January 11 at the C-building lobby. Born in 1839, Eugenio María de Hostos was an educator, essayist, and patriot responsible for reforming education in many countries in Latin America, including Chile, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.
Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis said, “I’m happy that we’re here celebrating together the man who later became known as The Citizen of the Americas. He reformed pedagogies, especially for women. Although he was a Puerto Rican-born intellectual, we felt he was ours in my home country, the Dominican Republic, where I grew up.”
To symbolize passing the baton, two student leaders from the Student Government Association (SGA) were in charge of blowing out the candles on behalf of Hostos: Leaghton Ozoria, president, and Brian Carter, budget and finance commissioner.
“Thank you for celebrating our school and coming together as the big family we are,” said Ozoria.
For his part, Carter explained that Hostos’ legacy inspired him during the trying times of the pandemic, during which he served his term as president of the SGA. Working to support his peers, Carter spearheaded many workshops to discuss mental health and financial literacy among the student body, an endeavor motivated by Hostos’ sense of duty for his own.