Page 15 - Menlo Magazine: Winter 2018

Jessie Thomas Brugos ’96
Director of Civic and Community Engagement
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
The words of MLK speak to the why behind the work that I do. I greatly admire King’s commitment to social justice, the extent of his self-sacri ce, and his ability to communicate our shared humanity with such force and beauty. My father marched with King and spent his life ghting for racial justice, and his devotion remains at the heart of my work because my father passed away when I was only three years old.
I come from a family of educators. My great-uncle and aunt—who both had a strong presence in my life—were teachers. My grandparents infused in me the importance of taking full advantage of opportunities to educate myself and worked tirelessly to ensure that their children and grandchildren received a quality
education, one that they were unable to access because
of race and economic constraints.
Menlo has been my second home for close to two decades. I
fell in love with literature while
I was a student
in Mrs. Wolf’s English class, and during my junior year of high school, I began to recognize the power of my voice. I majored in English and minored in Peace and Justice Studies at Tufts University, and I am grateful that I can pursue my passion for literature and ideas as well as my drive to make the world a better place through my work at Menlo. As I see history repeating itself and individuals and groups allowing their fears to dictate their actions, I remain steadfast in my
commitment. I want my children and students to celebrate
and feel proud of their heritage and grow up in a world that gives
every individual equal access to a quality
education and the opportunity to reach
their full potential. I hear and feel my father’s presence
each day and know that he would be so
proud to see me stand
before a class of
students.
MENLO MAGAZINE
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