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Now a resident of Lisle, Manny Sanchez grew up on Chicago’s west side. At NIU, he was a first-generation college student. Manny went on to receive his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was class president. After earning this degree, Manny founded Sanchez & Daniels, the second-largest minority-owned law firm in the nation. Today, he sits on many corporate and civic boards. Among those is the NIU Board of Trustees. Manny has been serving as a trustee since his appointment in 1996, and earned the distinction of becoming the first Latino in Illinois and second in the nation to head up a public university board when he was named chair in 2001. Pat, like Manny, is a first-generation college graduate. After spending a decade at Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., where she managed governmental affairs in a seven-state region, she was named vice president of external affairs for Chicago operations of Commonwealth Edison, an Exelon Company, becoming the energy provider’s first Latina V.P. Last year, she launched her own strategic communications business, Pulido Sanchez Communications, LLC.
On their participation in Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center project:
We have been looking for the right opportunity to make a statement about the love affair that I have with my alma mater. I just think it’s high time that the hundreds of thousands of NIU alumni have a center that they can truly call their own. (Manny Sanchez)
We both recognize the importance of the NIU relationship with its alumni, and we realize that alumni also have a responsibility to help cultivate future generations of college students. (Pat Pulido Sanchez)
What does it mean to you to be involved in a project of such importance for the university?
I’ve been a beneficiary of higher education, and I recognized its importance, especially in the Latino community. My husband and I are proud to be supporting the creation of a new front door to the NIU campus, a place that hopefully will inspire generations of diverse students, faculty and alumni. (Pat Pulido Sanchez)
Is there anything that you’d like to say to those who will enjoy the center?
The center will be a place where we alumni can bring our children or relatives who are interested in attending the university, where we can gather when we return to campus for football and basketball games, and where we can reflect upon our own NIU experiences and memories. It’s going to be a great draw and rallying point for the university.
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Barsema Alumni and
Visitors Center
231 N. Annie Glidden Rd.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815.753.1534
815.753.0278 (fax)
Located on the campus of
Northern Illinois University |
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