Last night this pin was on the lapel of President Sánchez’s suit jacket. Today it belongs to Yanaiza Gallant ‘01, M. Elem. Ed. ‘11, a RIC alumna and the Multilingual Director for East Providence Schools. Last night she returned to RIC to speak at Publick Occurrences, a forum on education hosted by leadershipri and the provjournal. She told her incredible story of coming here from Cuba at age 5, not speaking English and struggling in school. It took her three attempts to get accepted into RIC, but when she did she eventually earned three degrees (two bachelors and one masters). Before joining the East Providence Schools, she was a teacher at Feinstein Elementary in Providence where she won a 2012 Milken Award, often called “the Oscars of teaching.” President Sánchez was so impressed by her story that he took off his pin and gave it to her as a reminder of where she came from and what she represents. #RICspirit . . . ricalumni . . . #RICnews #experienceRIC #RICalumni #rhodeislandcollege ...