By Lisa Hensch, Nicole Hertel & Conor Sweeney
Something big is happening on Marquette's campus next week, and we would like to make sure our fellow students know about it. This Wednesday at noon in the ballrooms of the Alumni Memorial Union, you have the chance, at a special Soup with Substance lunch, to meet three amazing people from Mexico, India and Kenya who are doing inspirational work and changing the world we live in.
The Opus Group (a family real estate development company that worked on such buildings as the AMU, the Al McGuire Center and the John P. Raynor, S.J. Library) established the Opus Prize in 2004 through its foundation to give an annual $1 million prize to a faith-based social entrepreneur to recognize and support their inspirational humanitarian work in areas of dire need around the world.
The Opus Foundation has chosen a different Catholic university each year to administer the prize as a way to inspire the future generation of humanitarian leaders. This year they chose Marquette. Over the past year people associated with Marquette — alumni, administrators, faculty and current students — have been involved in the process of seeking out the recipients of the prize. Marquette put together the panel of jurors, including University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who selected the three finalists. As students, the three of us participated in trips this summer to witness the work of the final three candidates: Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, orphanages located throughout Latin America and founded by Rev. William Wasson, the Reach Education Action Program of India founded by Rev. Trevor Miranda, and a healthcare program in Kenya founded by Dr. Juliana Akinyi Otieno.
We cannot express in words how impressed we were by what we saw. All three candidates are doing extraordinary work and touching thousands of lives in some of the most desperate conditions in the world. They are truly an inspiration for us all as we contemplate the role service can play in our own lives.
Next week, all three will be on our campus! On Monday, Miranda received the $1 million Opus Prize and the other two will each receive $100,000 for their programs. It is a great honor for Marquette to be a part of this historic award. Check out www.opusprize.com to learn more about it.
Again, students have an opportunity this Wednesday to meet these incredible people and hear about their work. Everyone is invited. We hope to see you there!