During his nomination hearing, he said that education opened doors for him. While that is the power of promise, that promise if not kept for every student and he wants to make sure that education is door to opportunity for all students.
“I’m proud to say I was born at the Yale Lakers housing projects. That’s where my parents, Hector and Sarah Cardona, instilled early on the importance of hard work, service to community and education,” Cardona said with a slight emotional crack in his voice as he accepted Biden’s nomination. President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s education chief and a lifelong champion of public schools, to serve as education secretary.
When he said that, my phone blew up, said Alicea.
Cardona, whose parents and grandparents moved to Connecticut from Puerto Rico, was paying homage to his upbringing and what it means to be American.
“I felt how much that can relate to anyone not just a Hispanic person, said Alicea. It can relate to anyone that is here with different nationalities and how inclusive it is.”
His quote, both impactful and catchy.
Alicea s neighbor, Cathy Martorella, made coffee mugs with Cardona s quote on them. The mugs were initially just for family members. Martorella only expected to make a dozen.
But Alicea and Martorella then decided, with Dr. Cardona s blessing, to sell the mugs to benefit the Meriden Puerto Rican Festival Scholarship Fund.