Jody Strakosch ’79, Teresita Ramos ’93, and Erika Spitzer ’06 received this year’s Sed Ministrare Volunteer awards for their significant volunteer service with Wellesley.
The Alumnae Association’s fall weekend of volunteer training, BLUEprint, always includes multiple events. It begins with the Alumnae Achievement Awards on Friday evening (see 2018 Alumnae Achievement Awards). The following night, the Association celebrates significant volunteer service with its annual Sed Ministrare Volunteer Awards. The 2018 recipients were:
Jody Strakosch ’79
Strakosch began her volunteer service to Wellesley as a class representative in the 1980s, later chairing the class nominating committee. She is the current president of the class of ’79. Strakosch is also a vital member of the Wellesley Club of Minnesota. For the last 13 years, she has been a club officer and held the positions of programming chair, benefits chair, treasurer, and club president. She has also served on the Alumnae Association Board as the annual giving chair. Those who nominated her for the award called her “a fountain of knowledge” who has “served in a consistent and dedicated fashion over many decades.”
Teresita Ramos ’93
Ramos chaired her 20th reunion and later served as class president, helping lead the outreach for their successful 25th reunion, when 34 percent of the class returned to campus. Ramos has also been an alumnae admission representative, the club secretary for the Southeastern Michigan Wellesley Club, a selection committee member for the Alumnae Achievement Awards, and secretary for the Wellesley Latina Alumnae Network Shared Identity Group. In addition, she serves on the board of directors of Wellesley Students’ Aid Society. One of Ramos’ nominators says she “has never said no when asked to stand up for Wellesley.”
Erika Spitzer ’06
Spitzer began her volunteer work as an alumnae admission representative, attending college fairs and hosting events for prospective and accepted students and summer send-offs for incoming first-years. As president of the Wellesley Club of Los Angeles, Spitzer has also worked tirelessly to strengthen and expand the group, which previously did not enjoy robust alumnae engagement. She built engagement through a wide range of programming, including collaborations with neighboring clubs in Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Pasadena, and Shared Identity Groups. Spitzer is described as being warm, open, and encouraging.