Vilma Fermin, a second-year master’s student in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership and a Trinity Fellow at Marquette University, dedicates her time and energy to advocating for equitable education and community development. Her identity and passion for empowering others stems from her Jesuit teaching experience, which motivated her to study education policy and pursue roles that allow her to put her passion into action.
In June 2023, Fermin was invited to serve as the first graduate of the Board of Directors of St. Ignatius School in the South Bronx, New York. St. Ignatius School is a tuition-free Jesuit middle school dedicated to serving low-income students and is committed to providing instruction and support to students from middle school through college. Reflecting on his academic journey, Fermin said: It also taught me Jesuit values, which center around the importance of caring for the community and the whole person. ” Her role as a trustee allows her to give back to the school that has played an important role in her life, and to further its mission by supporting alumni educational activities and beyond. You can.
Ms. Fermin’s high school and college experiences continued to fuel her passion for service and advocacy. She attended the Ursuline School, a private Catholic high school in New Rochelle, New York, and was heavily involved in service activities, noting the school’s motto, Serbum, which means “I serve.” She then attended St. Joseph’s University, a Jesuit college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where her passion for advocacy and community development was truly ignited. Fermin points out deeply. “Service has moved from hands-on to action and immersion. I participated in weekly service programs and intensive trips that allowed me to truly experience the community.”
After graduating in 2020, Fermin spent a year working at Amate House, a nonprofit organization that prepares young adult leaders to become lifelong social justice advocates. Fermin recalls: “During my year of service, I intentionally lived in the community and practiced service, community, faith, social justice, and stewardship. Care and connection are at the core of my experience, and I It has deeply shaped how I exist and how I show up for the communities I am a part of.
Fermin, who currently lives in Milwaukee and is pursuing a graduate degree in education policy at Marquette University, has made his mark on the local community through his work as a Norman N. Gil Fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Forum. In this role, she is studying how approximately $2.4 billion in federal relief funds were used across Wisconsin school districts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The project retrospectively analyzed how one-time federal relief aid was used to support education across the state, and stated, “It examines what we know about the actions taken.”
In addition to his academic research activities, Fermin serves as a Trinity Fellow at Marquette University and works for the Milwaukee County Office of Equity. In her role as a human rights advocacy fellow, she supports data analysis and strategy development to address community needs. “I am passionate about access to education and want to work at the intersection of community and student development,” she says. Fermin believes that for young people to thrive, communities must also thrive. This is a lesson she learned through her Jesuit education, where she saw the impact of investing in both students and the community pay off in a big way.
When Fermin isn’t busy with studies or internships, she enjoys staying active, running the Lakefront Trail and Oak Leaf Trail, and knitting bucket hats to relax and be creative. Masu.
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