Maria Mascarenhas

Pedro Graciano de Carvalho

Cape Verde Consul General Honored

Posted on October 20, 2009 - Permalink
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On October 9, the college hosted a reception to honor Maria Mascarenhas, Cape Verde Consul General to the U.S., for her years spent working to support Cape Verdean communities on campus and in the region and country. This is her final month in the position.

Ms. Mascarenhas facilitated many initiatives that helped the college connect and strengthen ties with her home country, its government and with the University of Cape Verde. Her work was remembered kindly by all the Bridgewater representatives who spoke at the luncheon held in the Dunn Conference Suite.

President Dana Mohler-Faria offered words of praise, saying Ms. Mascarenhas "brought people together and encouraged all of us to work as partners" to strengthen ties between BSC and Cape Verde.

In 2005, Ms. Mascarenhas was named consul general in Boston, making her the second-highest ranking representative from Cape Verde in the U.S. In the position, she worked diligently with the Cape Verdean community to help them integrate into American culture, and she promoted economic relationships between the two countries.

In her remarks, Ms. Mascarenhas said she was humbled by the reception. She acknowledged the many benefits of working closely with the college and town and said there are "many good indicators from the Cape Verdean communities that they are growing" in all aspects of life.

Pedro Graciano de Carvalho, who will take up the consul general position this month, spoke at the event. He praised Ms. Mascarenhas for her good work and said he wished to maintain the strong relationships she helped develop between the U.S. and Cape Verde.

Harold Tavares, '06, who is the coordinator of international relations at BSC and a native of Cape Verde, presented a brief history of the partnership between the college and Cape Verde. (Story and Photo by Rob Matheson, Institutional Communications)