MARCH 25, 2011
Ilyitch Nahiely Tábora, a 2005 graduate of the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, has been featured in the Boston Globe as this year's recipient of the John A. Dinneen, S.J. Hispanic Alumni Community Service Award. The Archbishop Oscar A. Romero Scholarship Committee of Boston College annually presents the Dinneen Award to a Boston College graduate whose work best reflects the legacy of Archbishop Romero and the commitment, leadership and service to the Latino community of the late Rev. John A. Dinneen, S.J.
Tábora was recognized for her commitment to serving thousands of Latino students and English language learners in the Boston Public Schools as associate director of the Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
TAG's mission is to ensure that Boston Public School Latino students and English language learners excel academically, socially and personally, so as to improve their ability to succeed in high school and at the postsecondary levels. Tábora has helped to secure more than $330,000 in new grants to develop and expand programs such as the PANAS Mentoring Program and the TAG Summer Program for English Language Learners, both of which have been recognized nationally for best practices in service to Latino and English language learners students.
Her nomination states, "I love Ilyitch. Through her example [she] reminds me all the time of the value of sacrificing and sharing your gifts, talents and resources to a community. Too often we misplace praise and recognition on people who have the charisma of a leader but lack the mutual exchange of deep affection between community leader and the community members who are the beneficiaries of the leadership. Ilyitch and TAG represent that perfect marriage between leader and community."
