Portland Magazine
Alumni
June 9, 2020
By Anna Lageson-Kerns ’83, ’14
At the start of her four years at University of Portland Diana Salgado Huicochea ’20 felt overwhelmed and alone. Though a cradle Catholic, Diana had never attended Mass celebrated in English, and, unable to respond to the prayers, she felt like an imposter. Yet she returned, took pictures of the missal, and after finishing homework, practiced responses aloud nightly until she memorized them. Attending daily Mass, joining campus ministry, and being open to God’s grace and love are what Diana believes give her courage to embrace new experiences, success in academics, and passion for service.
As the 2020 recipient of the Thomas A. Gerhardt Award for Service and Leadership, Diana serves “not as a duty, but out of love for my community,” she explains. Among her positions of leadership, Diana was confirmation coordinator at her home parish, tutored at her former high school, and volunteered at Rose Haven shelter for women and children. At UP, her volunteer work included mentoring other first-generation (FGEN) students and attending the Civil Rights and Border Immersions with the Moreau Center for Service and Justice. Diana also acted as a student coordinator for the Moreau Center’s Rural and Urban Immersions and for UP’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
This summer, Diana will enter the Echo graduate service program at University of Notre Dame, earning a master of arts in theology while serving in a parish or school in Lafayette, IN. Of her continued devotion to service, Diana says, “Seeing the impact that you can actually make, if it changes the life of one person, that’s more than enough.”
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