MARÍA LEÓN VALLEJO ’76

Community service is woven into María León Vallejo’s life varied interests including serving on several Board of Directors – New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation, St. Marys’ Dominican High School, Damas of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Hispanic Apostolate, Sociedad Española, Cuban Club of New Orleans, Jefferson the Beautiful, Louisiana Garden Clubs Federation, and Louisiana Urban Forestry Council. María credits her Dominican education preparing her for a lifetime of community service early on in urban forestry and now in serving others, “by instilling in me the importance of starting my day in quietness and prayer since ‘With God All is Possible’. My Dominican education, especially through its community service hours requirement for graduation, taught me the importance of giving my time to good causes and others not as fortunate as yourself even when you might not be as fortunate as others around you and culturally different as a Cuban immigrant. I try to live by the Profile of a Dominican Graduate, especially to ‘cherish the diversity of God’s world’ which motivates me to continue working toward the education of others. Considering the great gratitude I have always felt for Dominican providing scholarships for my high school education, it has been and is my pleasure to pass this gift forward to others, especially Hispanic students at Dominican and many other area schools.”

“I hope to inspire young Dominican students to go forth, especially first in Prayer, by seeking a lifelong enrichment of their Catholic faith through Bible studies and other forms of spiritual formations. Since prayer will instill in one that, ‘With God All is Possible,’ then Study, Community, and Service will naturally follow as gifts from God. Studying our faith and prayer makes us open to wanting to learn about all the things in life with which God gifts us, such as nature and the beautiful different nationalities with their cultures of this world.”

In 2016, María and husband Ramon completed El Camino de Santiago, a walking pilgrimage from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela (Compostela means Field of Stars). They did the French route of the Walk of St James, 790 kilometers (490 miles) from St. Jean Pied-dePort, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She calls pilgrimages “journeys to holy sites to deepen ones spiritual connection with God. St. James is the Patron Saint of Spain where my family is from. I was inspired to do the Walk of St. James in thanksgiving to God for all His gifts to my immigrant family. As I walked the many challenging kilometers which took over 30 days, I prayed, ‘Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ all around me, Christ within me’ which I still use today and gives me spiritual strength.”

In the Fall of 2022, Nelita ManegoRamey was inducted into her new role as Dominican’s Alumnae Advisory Council President for 2022-2024. From 2020 to 2022 she served as President Elect. A registered nurse, Nelita is a manager for Peoples Health/UnitedHealth Group and a member of the American and Louisiana Nurses Associations. Active in her community, she is especially enthusiastic about advocating for people with disabilities, is an advocate for her church parish Corpus Christi Epiphany, and is a board member for the non-profit organization Split Second Foundation.

Nelita also serves on the Louisiana State University National Diversity Advisory Board; is a Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; a member of Ladies for Purple Scholars, and The Peoples Health Culture, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Nelita lives their motto, Intelligence is the Torch of Wisdom. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913, by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University to promote academic excellence and provide assistance to those in need. The Founders of Delta Sigma Theta envisioned an organization committed to sisterhood, scholarship, service, and addressing the social issues of the time. Since its founding,