Kicking Off Women's History Month with Men of Color Alliance (MOCA): Women's Appreciation Dinner

Nancy Saad ’22
Contributing Writer
The Women’s Appreciation dinner held by the Men of Color Alliance, (MOCA)  on the night of Saturday, Mar. 2 served as a great way to kick off the month of March, otherwise known as women’s history month. MOCA’s co-presidents, Brian Nshimirimana ’21 and Matthew Rivera ’20, greeted and welcomed every guest individually, providing only the best experience for all those who attended. The effort and time put into the event was apparent; from delicate table decorations to flower pieces and color coordinated chairs, there was not one detail left unattended. The dinner included impressive performances from Trinity’s own acapella group, The Quirks, with solos from freshmen Heyssis Castillo and Clare Donohoe. Esdras Javier’s ’22 violin rendition of a Kehlani song, a woman musician that inspires him, and a spoken word performance from Diante Dancy ’21. 
The dinner also included guest speaker, Tia Long, co-founder of Power of CT (POC), which gives opportunities for Connecticut’s millennial people of color creators to get networking experience and advancement in their work. Long presented her emotional story of how she achieved her goal of working in the entertainment busi ness by being herself and staying true to who she is throughout the process. She inspired many young women of color, as she came from a small town in Connecticut as one of the only females in her field. Long explained how her perseverance and risk-taking was worth it to get where she is now. Her charisma and confidence took the audience by storm and inspired those hesitant about their future to take that leap of faith.
MOCA also presented awards to both Tia Long and women of Trinity, including Muffin, a dining service employee at Trinity, often seen at Mather and known for her breakfast food. The presentation of this award had a great reaction from the crowd, as employees in the hospitality industry tend to be overlooked when it comes to recognition. The awards honored these women for their dedication and passion to uplifting their surrounding communities. The dinner highlighted all women and their contributions, such as those in culinary arts, medicine/law, education as well as simply being a mother, daughter, or student. MOCA did a fantastic job of not limiting their recognition to Trinity students only, as they reached  out to the greater Hartford area, with the best intentions of showing their gratitude to all women of our community.