Seniors Akbar Rahman and Joey Shanley, who helped launch a service program in El Salvador, were presented with the first Congressman John Joseph Moakley Award for International Service at a ceremony Monday in Burns Library. Established last year, the Moakley Award honors a student who has shown a deep interest in and commitment to the promotion of social justice and human rights throughout the world while at Boston College. It recognizes the courage and dedication of Moakley in working for years to promote a just American policy abroad while representing the Massachusetts Ninth Congressional District. Shanley and Rahman traveled to El Salvador while attending Bellarmine Preparatory School in San Jose, Calif. and worked with the University Chaplaincy to arrange a similar program for BC students.
Participants hold weekly meetings and reflections prior to the visit.
Moakley, awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by Boston College in 1992, is often cited for his response to the 1989 assassination of six Jesuit priests and two women in El Salvador, demonstrating a deep commitment to bringing those involved to justice and to continuing the murdered Jesuits' important work on behalf of the poor. Rahman, a Presidential Scholar and an International Studies major, has been active in the Chaplaincy's 4Boston Council and Appalachia Volunteer service programs, and served as a Senior Retreat team leader. Shanley, a Political Science major, has been active with the Undergraduate Government of Boston College's Drug and Alcohol Issues Council since his sophomore year, and was council co-director last fall. He also has served with the UGBC Peer Advising Network and the Ignacio Volunteers. Senior Vice President James P. McIntyre, who served as emcee for the event, noted that many of the students in attendance had also participated in Central American service programs.