By Angel Boose
On Sunday, March 27, 2022, Senator Bob Menendez held his 11th Annual Women’s History Month Celebration at Union City High School in Union City. He hosts the event in Union City each year because it is his hometown and very dear to his heart.
The distinguished honorees were women who perform acts of service to help others around the state. Each was presented with the Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Award. Evangelina Menendez was Senator Menendez’s mother, who urged her husband to leave Cuba during a time of dictatorship in search of a better life for her family. She was a hard-working woman who instilled core values in her children-the importance of education, hard work, and perseverance. The award is given annually in her memory.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the honorees from both 2020 and 2022 were honored. Two of those honorees were Theresa Maughan, 2021-2022 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, and Kimberly Dickstein Hughes, 2019-2020 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year. It has become tradition for Senator Menendez to honor the Teacher of the Year at this event when that honor is held by a woman.
Theresa Maughan is a high school social studies teacher at East Orange STEM Academy, and the 2021-2022 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year. She was born in Belize, but grew up in Hudson County. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history and education from Rutgers College in 1981 and later her master’s degree in administration and supervision from New Jersey City University. Her long career as an educator has given her many opportunities to demonstrate to her students how they can make a difference in the world. She encourages her students to take up the challenge posed by Congressman John Lewis when he stated, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” She believes that New Jersey students deserve a teacher workforce as diverse as they are and culturally inclusive classrooms that provide an effective and safe learning culture that connects with students’ prior knowledge and backgrounds. She recognized that teaching would provide her with the best opportunity to fulfill her commitment to work for change.
Kimberly Dickstein Hughes is a high school English teacher at Haddonfield Memorial High School, and the 2019-2020 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year. She was raised in Camden County. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and political science from Rutgers College in 2008 and her master’s degree in English secondary education from Rutgers University in 2009. An English teacher for the past 11 years at Haddonfield Memorial High School, she has made reading an active experience for her students, connecting assigned texts with performances and services activities. She has served Camden County as a community organizer and tireless advocate for education.
There was no better time for this celebration to be held. This Women’s History Month has been a memorable one, with history in the making. Senator Menendez noted that earlier this month the President of the United States began the State of the Union address for the very first time with the words “Madam Speaker and Madam Vice President.” Additionally, we were able to bear witness to the confirmation hearings of the first African American woman nominated to the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Many amazing women were in attendance, and each spoke about the wonderful women who raised them and contributed to them reaching their full potential. One of those women was special guest, Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver. She spoke about being a past honoree, and how she thinks of Senator Menendez’s mother as she views the award each day she walks into her office. The Lt. Governor discussed maternal influence having a lot to do with the journey we have all pursued, and emphasized Evangelina’s influence being the reason her grandson, Robert Menendez, Jr. is about to become a congressman and her granddaughter, Alicia Menendez, appears on MSNBC’s “American Voices.” Oliver ended with “Let us never forget it is the women who gave birth to us that allow us to have the opportunities and achievements we have collectively acquired.”
“When women win, we all win, which is why we are all gathered here today,” said Senator Menendez.” He attributes his success and everything he does as senator to his mother. “One of the most important lessons my mother taught me is in order to be free, you have to be brave.” He spoke of how proud he is of the president sending aid to help the Ukrainians win their freedom. He sees his mother in the mothers leading their children in the perilous journey to leave the country. “An attack on women anywhere is an attack on women everywhere,” said Menendez. He fights for equal opportunity for every American stressing that the past two years has shown us when there is a will, women will find a way, and that women will teach us invaluable lessons day in and day out.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was the keynote speaker. She spoke about foreign affairs being one of the most terrific careers anyone could ever imagine. She encouraged women to look into a career with the State Department, sharing she serves as a recruiter. She offered to walk any young lady through the process of applying. The ambassador believes there is no better career representing all American people.
“In the face of darkness, women are always on the frontlines, helping those in need,” said the ambassador, noting that the honorees have changed lives. She read their stories and called them an inspiration having served in their respective roles as educators, medical professionals, community activists, politicians, and philanthropists.
Senator Menendez, his wife, and granddaughter Evangelina presented the awards to the honorees. In addition to Maughan, the 2022 honorees included Judith Persichilli, NJ Department of Health Commissioner; Roslyn Y. Rogers Collins, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey; Rose Cuison-Villazor, Co-Dean, Professor of Law at Rutgers University and Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar; and Meredith Masin Blount, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New Jersey. Along with Dickstein Hughes, the 2020 honorees included Joi Smith, Co-Founder of Joi’s Angels; Rosemarie Sorce, Volunteer at Hackensack University Medical Center; and Erin Chung, Founder of Women for Progress.