San Juan del Sur, a coastal town in the extreme southwest of Nicaragua, is some 4,000 miles away from Chestnut Hill鈥攁nd at a greater distance in socioeconomic terms. But for Associate Professor of Sociology Michael Malec, San Juan del Sur exemplifies the value in bringing the faraway up close.
Malec has organized several service trips with faculty and students to the area, where they have installed ecological water filters and stoves in rural homes and schools, and aided local health outreach. He also has helped to maintain and expand the sister city project between San Juan del Sur and Newton, where he lives.
University President William P. Leahy, S.J., with Associate Professor of Sociology Michael Malec, at the presentation of 51茶馆's 2016 Community Service Award. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
Described by one 51茶馆 associate as 鈥渁 beacon of good citizenship,鈥� Malec was chosen to receive the University鈥檚 annual Community Service Award, presented by the Office of Governmental and Community Affairs, which honors a 51茶馆 employee whose actions exemplify the Jesuit spirit of community service and involvement. 聽
Malec鈥檚 colleagues also point out that he has put his ideals into action locally as well as in Nicaragua, as an advocate for affordable housing in Newton and a three-term alderman for the city during the 1980s.
Malec says his 48 years at 51茶馆 have provided him with ample motivation and guidance to serve.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to do all this because of where I am,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he Boston College ethos鈥斺�榤en and women for others鈥� and 鈥榞o set the world aflame'鈥攈as nurtured me, and along with the people at Boston College, provided a very supportive environment. I feel very blessed to be here.鈥�
Malec鈥檚 colleagues, friends and former students (many of whom refer to him as 鈥淒on Miguel鈥�) feel blessed themselves for having known him. Nominating him for the Community Service Award, Susan Choy 鈥�11鈥攚ho participated in the Nicaragua service trip twice鈥攚rote that Malec made it possible for students 鈥渢o act out social justice ideals by working alongside Nicaraguan leaders to bolster educational resources, engineer a 鈥榞reen鈥� preschool, and improve local water sanitation, among other work.
鈥淏y his example,鈥� she concluded, 鈥渨e can envision how the power of one passionate individual can mobilize a coalition to engage in service against growing global challenges.鈥�
鈥淭he service trips Mike Malec leads offer much more than an interesting and fun opportunity to do community service in another country: They are master classes in civic engagement,鈥� wrote Sheila McIntosh, a part-time faculty member in the Romance Languages and Literatures Department. 鈥淚t has been a pleasure to witness how Mike鈥檚 hands-on solidarity with the people of Nicaragua, his respect and admiration for their ability to achieve so much with so little, and his decades of commitment to the Newton-San Juan del Sur Sister City Project inspire Boston College students.鈥�
Malec first became involved with the Newton-San Juan del Sur program through a friend, Newton Alderman Rodney Barker, who described its various initiatives鈥攍ike constructing and renovating schools, raising donations for medical facilities, and building water-purification and smoke-free cooking stoves鈥攁nd urged him to 鈥渃ome down and see this place.鈥� Malec did so in 2003, during a faculty-staff trip to Nicaragua organized through 51茶馆鈥檚 Intersections program.
鈥淚 was able to get away to San Juan del Sur for a couple of days, and fell in love with the place,鈥� says Malec, a member of the sister city project executive board since 1999. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥業鈥檝e got to come back here with students.鈥欌��
The often formidable task of putting together a service trip abroad, Malec says, was made easier by people like Volunteer and Service Learning Center Director Daniel Ponsetto, Campus Minister Daniel Leahy, and others in Campus Ministry, Health Services and Dining Services (鈥淭hey were able to help students set up point drives to raise funds for the trip,鈥� he notes of Dining Services).
When all the logistics and arrangements were taken care of, and the trip took place, it exceeded expectations, says Malec. 鈥淚t was a very gratifying experience. We worked side by side with local families, and that ordinary, daily interaction meant a lot.
鈥淎 typical day usually involved stopping at a hardware store and picking up a bag of cement and other supplies. Once at the work site, we鈥檇 mix the cement, pour the foundation, and continue with whatever project we were working on until it was completed. So the students got to see the whole process through from beginning to end, and that it is possible for someone to make a meaningful difference in others鈥� lives.鈥�
The lesson was one Malak Yusuf 鈥�09 took to heart.
鈥淎s students and global citizens, during our service trips and beyond, Professor Malec ensured we understood and communicated the power of hope and belief in investing in a society鈥檚 youth,鈥� she wrote in her nomination for Malec. 鈥淵ears after graduation, I still regard Professor Malec as a life-changing mentor and key driver for my commitment to international development and social equality.鈥�
鈥擲ean Smith | News & Public Affairs