The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY OF MARIA CUNHA
______
HON. LORI TRAHAN
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the leadership and legacy of a mentor and a friend, Maria Cunha, who will retire as Associate Dean and Director of the Out of School Youth Development Program at Middlesex Community College. Her most recent years at MCC have had an immense impact on students and faculty alike, advising and supporting them in their educational and vocational pursuits.
Maria was born in the Azores and moved with her family to the United States in 1967, eventually settling in Lowell among a vibrant, proud Portuguese community. After graduating from Lowell High School in 1974, she went to Regis College and became the first in her family to graduate from college four years later.
Public service has always guided Maria's career. She worked as a teacher, interpreter, and mentor serving on countless non-profit boards and dedicated her life to advocating fiercely for families, children, and immigrants in our community.
For twelve years at the International Institute, Maria helped families navigate government agencies on their path to becoming citizens and creating a new life in the Greater Lowell region. She carried that passion for advocacy to her next role as Constituent Services Director in former Representative Marty Meehan's District Office. There, she continued her mission to provide the highest quality services to our community and exemplified the nobility of service--
picking up the phone and listening to someone in crisis and delivering assistance; not giving up on someone in need of a hand; and advocating for resources and laws that fix our broken, inequitable systems.
Over the years, Maria has served as a role model and mentor to so many, myself included. She is what we all should aspire to be as public servants--a shining and tangible example of how government, education, and community are supposed to work.
Even in retirement, Maria will continue to champion those who don't have a voice, her rich Portuguese heritage, and immigrants in search of a better life here in our community.
Through her many years of service, Maria has made the City of Lowell a better place to call home. Thanks to her efforts, the City's future is bright, and I join Lowell residents and so many throughout our region in thanking her for her dedication to this incredible community.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 45
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