Jesuit values guide Trinity Fellow, Vilma Fermin’s passion for educational access and advocacy

Vilma Fermin, a second-year master's student in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership and Trinity Fellow at Marquette University, dedicates her time and energy advocating for equitable education and community development. Her identity and passion to empower others stems from her Jesuit educational experience which has motivated her to study educational policy and seek roles which allow her to take her passion to action.

In June 2023, Fermin was invited to serve as the first alumna on the Board of Trustees at St. Ignatius School in the South Bronx of New York. St. Ignatius School is a tuition-free Jesuit middle school dedicated to supporting low-income students that is committed to providing guidance and support to students from middle school through college. Reflecting on her academic journey, Fermin says, "It was the place that ignited my curiosity and nurtured my passion for education access. It also introduced me to Jesuit values that centered the importance of community and caring for the whole person." Her role on the board as a trustee allows her to give back to the school that played such a significant role in her life, furthering its mission by supporting alumni in their educational pursuits and beyond.

Fermin's high school and college experiences continued to spark her passion for service and advocacy. She attended The Ursuline School, a private, Catholic high school in New Rochelle, New York, and was heavily involved in service, noting the school's motto, Serviam, which means "I will serve." She then went on to attend Saint Joseph's University, a Jesuit college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where her passion for advocacy and community development was truly ignited. Fermin profoundly notes; "Service moved from practice to action and immersion. I participated in weekly service programs and immersion trips that allowed me to experience community authentically."

After graduating in 2020, Fermin participated in a year of service with the Amate House, a nonprofit developing young adult leaders into life-long social justice advocates. Fermin reflects; "During my year of service, I lived in an intentional community and practiced the tenants of service, community, faith, social justice, and stewardship. Care and connection have been at the core of my experiences and have profoundly shaped how I show up in, and for the communities I am a part of.

Now living in Milwaukee and pursuing her graduate degree at Marquette University in educational policy, Fermin is making her mark on the local community through her research at the Wisconsin Policy Forum as the Norman N. Gill fellow. In this role, she is studying how federal relief funds, nearly $2.4 billion, were spent across school districts in Wisconsin to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The project provides a retrospective analysis of how the one-time federal relief aid was utilized to support education throughout the state, noting "this research will explore what we know about the actions that schools took to impact student recovery from the pandemic."

In addition to her academic and research commitments, Fermin, as a Marquette University Trinity Fellow, serves at the Milwaukee County Office of Equity. In her role as the Human Rights and Advocacy Fellow, she supports data analysis and strategy development to address community needs. "I am passionate about education access and hope to work at the intersection of community and student development," she shares. Fermin believes that for youth to thrive, their communities must also thrive, a lesson she learned throughout her Jesuit education, where she witnessed the profound effects of investing in both students and their communities.

When she is not busy with her studies or internships, Fermin enjoys staying active by running alongside the Lakefront and Oak Leaf Trails, and crocheting bucket hats as a relaxing and creative outlet.

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