LATIN TIMES MAGAZINE - 2019 Summer Edition | Page 39
Latina Lideres Awards
surviving cancer
Patsy Sanchez
2019 Latina Mover N Shaker
by: Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla
Having escaped a communist country as a child, humans
right violations, freedom and democracy are important
causes to me. I am a community activist and very
engaged in creating awareness about the atrocities of
communism. I have organized many community
demonstrations to bring attention to Cuban dissidents and
pro/ freedom initiatives on the island hoping to bring
democracy and plurality to the Cuban people.
LTM: What part of Florida do you live in – are you
from Florida? If not – what brought you to Florida?
Patsy Sanchez: I love Tampa! I have lived in Tampa since 1980 when
I arrived as a 13-year-old from Cuba not knowing a word of English!
Where I was born and the experiences living under a totalitarian re-
gime as a child played a major role into who I am today. I was born
in La Habana, Cuba where I lived until the age of 13. I came to the
US through the 1980 Mariel Exodus. My dad had been sentenced to
20 years in prison for attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro. In May
of 1980, my family and I were placed on a boat destined to the US
while a storm threatened the Gulf of Mexico. After several hours at
sea, our boat lost its motors and we were adrift. We were rescued by
the US Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous on May 15 of 1980. After three
days on the Vigorous, we were transferred onto another vessel and
arrived in Key West on May 18. During my stay on the Vigorous, a
young ‘coastie’ took care of me. On the last day aboard the ship, he
took a Polaroid picture of us and gave me his hat as a memento of our
journey. After a 26 year-long search, to find the ‘coastie’ who took
care of me, I found him thanks to that Polaroid picture I had saved
all those years. My ‘coastie’ and I were reunited during his retirement
ceremony from the Coast Guard in Hickman, Kentucky where I was
invited to speak. During an emotional ceremony, I was able to ‘thank
him’ for his kindness. I have shared my story about perseverance and
‘paying it forward’ during Hispanic Heritage celebrations, Diversity
conferences at local universities, high schools, and community or-
ganizations. It has been covered by national and local newspapers
and radio: Kentucky’s Paducah Sun, CENTRO Tampa, The Tampa
Tribune, La Gaceta Latina, La Gaceta Newspaper, 7 Dias, Hispanic
Journal in Higher Education, St. Pete Times, Coastguard Compass,
USF Oracle, WUSF Radio, Super Q 1300 and other media outlets.
I am writing a book about my memoirs. In 2011, I was invited to
participate in a documentary “Voices from Mariel” that captured the
unheard voices of 10 Cuban-Americans who talked about their expe-
riences before and during their journey to the US. The documentary
won a number of national and international awards and premiered
in National Geographic Mundo in April 2013. A book by the same
title in Spanish and English is available through Amazon. I wrote my
chapter in the book.
LTM: Tell me about what you do for a living
Patsy Sanchez: I get to give back to a community that allowed me to
grow and prosper. I am the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the
University of South Florida and director of the USF Latino Scholar-
ship program. I have been engaged in education advocacy, commu-
nity engagement, and corporate relations for over 20 years. I’ve held
various leadership positions at USF. Most of my work has centered
on education and access. In 2008, I secured a historic 2 million dollar
gift from the Helios Education Foundation—the largest gift in the
history of the USF Latino Scholarship Program. I have published ar-
ticles for local and national journals, including Hispanic Outlook in
L atin T imes M agazine
Higher Education and have published research on Latino Student Suc-
cess. I have been invited to speak at various leadership conferences and
community events including the Mayor’s Latinos Unidos Leadership
Conference, Florida Diversity Council, Puerto Rican/Hispanic Cham-
ber of Commerce of Polk County, and Black, Brown and College Bound
Annual Summit, HCC Hispanic Heritage Kick-off, HCC Scholarship
Partners Breakfast, City of Tampa Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Celebra-
tion, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, Bangor University in Wales, UK
etc. I’ve been humbled by various awards and recognitions including
USF Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award in 2002, 2005, 2015. In 2006,
I was selected to the Young Hispanic Leaders Program among 400 ap-
plicants—a national program funded by the US and Spain, which pur-
ports to strengthen relations between the two countries. In 2007, I was
selected by Siete Dias as the Hispana Ejemplar for my contributions in
the community. In 2014, I received the Hispanic Advocate Award from
the Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s Office Advisory Council. In 2016,
Tampa Hispanic Heritage Inc. recognized me as the Woman of the Year.
In 2017, the Florida State Fair added me to the Diversity Community
Leaders Wall of Fame.
LTM: Tell us about the biggest highlights of your career
Patsy Sanchez: There is no greater gift than that of giving back. During
my 20 years + career as an educator, I've championed the cause of ed-
ucation with an emphasis on increasing the success of our Latino stu-
dents, by creating a path of opportunities, resources and role models.
During this time, I’ve had the privilege to change the lives of countless
young students in our community as the Director of the USF Latino
Scholarship. But my work in advocacy began much earlier with Project
Arriba, a high school drop-out prevention program, where I worked
to motivate, engage, and inspire Latino students from Bay area high
schools. This job marked the beginning of a career devoted to education
and helping Latinos in our community. I began my career at USF, as a
minority recruiter providing college knowledge to first generation low-
income students and their families; disseminating the necessary admis-
sions and scholarship/financial aid information they needed to succeed.
More importantly, as the first generation in college and immigrant, my-
self, I have served as a role model and inspiration for young people with
whom I’ve shared my own story about challenges and triumphs.
LTM: What did I miss? Tell me something you want us to know!
Patsy Sanchez: In January of 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I immediately turned my diagnoses into an opportunity to help other
women dealing with breast cancer, caregivers, and people, in general, to
focus on the positives in their lives. I created a blog to share my experi-
ences titled: Healing, Love, and Living: My Cancer Story which chroni-
cles my journey. I modeled scarfs and hats at Moffitt Cancer Center in
an effort to help women regain their sense of femininity and self-con-
fidence. I sought out media partners like BayNews 9 to document my
healing journey and create a series both in English and Spanish with the
purpose of inspiring other women dealing with cancer, and people in
general, to live more thankful lives.
www .L atin T imes M agazine . com
A braza el calor de tu cultura !
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