PHILADELPHIA –
The executive attorney general for Pennsylvania spoke to the Naval Support Activity Philadelphia workforce about the importance of education during the Hispanic Heritage Month program Oct. 10.
Sara Manzano-Díaz, who was born in New York to a Puerto Rican family, spoke about how persevering through school led to a career in government and law.
Her mother never had the chance to get a formal education and couldn’t write her name. When she had to sign documents, she could only mark it with an ‘X,’ Manzano-Díaz said.
“When we were living in New York, there was a program to teach people how to read and write,” Manzano-Díaz said. “She learned how to write her name, and she was so proud because that was the thing that she wanted to do her whole life.”
The value of education was important to Manzano-Díaz’s Spanish-speaking parents. She often translated between Spanish and English for her family and advocated on their behalf. She internalized those early experiences to become a lawyer and said that education is a pathway for Latino people to improve their lives.
“Education is something that no one can take from you,” she said.
Echoing Manzano-Díaz’s remarks on the importance of education, Michelle Nieves, career development branch chief at the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, said that it was important to keep learning and developing professional skills.
“My parents stressed that education is an important thing,” Nieves said. “It’s important for our future to help educate Hispanics and Latinos so they can be prosperous.”
The Hispanic Heritage program was sponsored by the DLA Troop Support Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Office Advisory Committee.