A day with an author and their work
Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo INTEC

Rector's words
Dr. Rolando M. Guzmán

November 2016

Distinguished members of the Academic Council of INTEC
Dear managers, professors, students and other members of the Intecian community,
Dear teachers and students from other institutions,
Dear Sr. Leonor Gibb and her special guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Receive an enthusiastic welcome to our annual celebration of the Day with an Author and his Work! Thank you for joining us and thus being witnesses of our tribute to a life and a work that represent an example of the virtues, attitudes and values ​​that our institution promotes every day. I can assure you that the time you have reserved for this purpose will not be an investment in vain, since there is no person in this room who in the course of the next few hours is not going to be touched in some way by the example of love that represents the trajectory of our honoree.

There is no doubt that love is a sentiment inherent to human beings. In many cases, the main object of that feeling is a single person; sometimes it is a family; sometimes it is a small group of things, animals and people. In other cases, however, the ability to give love embraces all humanity with the same force and motivates an act of giving whose nature goes beyond the realm of the common to become something exceptional. Sister Leonor represents one of those cases of a love for others that seems to have no limits.

Only a love like that could have led her, in the style of the old missionaries, to leave the comfort of her mother's home to go in search of other lands that could only promise her needs and limitations. Only an act of love could have brought her to our midst, corroded then not only by material arrears but also by the spiritual poverty inevitably associated with a bloody dictatorship. And only love could have generated a full-time dedication to the role of teacher, paid with a certainly high but intangible salary, since it is paid only with coins of gratitude.

Therefore, by celebrating his life and work, we are not only celebrating a work of the brain but also a work of the heart. That makes this moment a special occasion for the entire inteciana community and for the institutions that accompany us in this act of recognition. By honoring Sister Eleanor, we honor all the people who have dedicated their lives to the service of others, and especially those who have dedicated their lives to the education of the poorest. Let's celebrate today the life and work of one who gave up being the mother of a few to become the mother of many. And finally, in a world convulsed by hatred and difference, let us reaffirm today our firm belief in the imperishable miracle of generosity.    

Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy this event and have a happy rest of the day.