Celebrating “Hijos de la Tierra” Day
Every year at EARTH we celebrate a special day in our history, the 23rd of March, 1990, when our University opened its doors. This year, on our 33rd anniversary, we used the occasion to connect our community – the staff, faculty and student body – to talk about EARTH’s values, spirit, and mission. During the pandemic it was challenging to not get together with the camaraderie that characterizes our Institution. We are so happy to again be able to generate spaces where we can gather in person.
“When we started organizing this event, we weren’t only thinking about “Hijos de la Tierra” Day (“Children of the Earth” in English). We knew it meant the return of face-to-face activities that involve our entire community. After three years of not being able to meet like this, we wanted to create a genuine reconnection between people, to embrace EARTH for all that it is and all that it represents,” said Gabriela Monge, Events and Production Coordinator at EARTH.
The event had four main objectives:
- Be in tune with the core values and spirit of EARTH University, an institution that stands out for its atmosphere of warmth and human connection.
- Connect with our campuses: to see in new ways the spaces where we study, work, and coexist.
- Bring people together: to encourage staff to step outside their usual social bubbles and to bring together in new ways the various groups that comprise the EARTH community, in order to generate new bonds, better understand one another, and create learning opportunities.
- Engage with the mission and the future of EARTH so that everyone feels they are contributing to the global transformation EARTH is committed to. We are all in some way part of the change.
On April 19, more than 700 people gathered in person at our Guacimo Campus and virtually – from our La FLor Campus and our offices in more than 4 countries – to share with peers, discover new things about EARTH, and to get to know other people’s work throughout our different units.
During the morning, all participants split into mixed groups and moved to different areas of the Campus to engage in activities and share. The Guacimo Campus was filled with laughter, stories, and lots of sunshine. Later, the traditional presentation of awards was held to celebrate staff and faculty on their 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and even 30th year of working at EARTH.
“I am delighted to be celebrating 20 years of working at EARTH. Thanks to what I do here and what I have received, I have my small house and have been able to raise my children. I feel very grateful,” said Ana Jiménez, staff member at EARTH’s Commercial Operations.
“Celebrating 30 years of working at EARTH is fulfilling a personal dream. I have seen how this institution has grown and exceeded all the expectations that many of us had at the beginning. We expected great things, but even greater and unexpected things have happened. For me, to be here is to have fulfilled the purpose of my professional life,” commented Victor Sanchez, Senior Philanthropy Officer at the EARTH University Foundation.
After a day of celebration full of warmth and inspiration, we can proudly say that we are honored to be sons and daughters of the Earth. We share a noble mission: to strive as a community for a better world.
Happy anniversary to our University!
