Chelsea Clinton among recipients of Eleanor Roosevelt Medal Ceremony in Hyde Park
“Every award recipient contributed to the world in a different way, and it’s incredible to think about how many ways we can do good in the world.”
Marist College President Dennis J. Murray and his wife, Marilyn, shared a brunch table with the Clintons last Sunday, along with other former and current recipients of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill award.
Chelsea Clinton was only one of five medalists at the 32nd annual Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Ceremony, where she was recognized for her work in global health advocacy and women’s rights education.
“Eleanor fundamentally believed that if children could understand what human rights are, why they are important and why we each only have them, ultimately if we all have them,” Chelsea Clinton said in her speech. “That's why she wrote children's books, it's also why I write children's books.”
President Murray earned the same Val-Kill medal in 1996, one year after Hillary Rodham Clinton was awarded hers. Hillary Clinton was there to present the medal to her daughter, Chelsea Clinton — marking the first mother-daughter presentation in its history.
Lee Miringoff of the Marist Poll (Left), Chelsea Clinton, and Hillary Clinton (Right) Credit: Tara Guaimano
A crowd of over 300 people gathered at the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park for the event, including over a dozen Marist community members.
“The Medals Ceremony honors women and men who have contributed to the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt in so many fields,” said Nina Roosevelt Gibson, Vice Chair on the ERVK Board and a granddaughter of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt. “These are people who have found their voice and stood up for others.”
Each recipient was awarded for their excellence in embodying the values and legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt in her work in human rights and social justice. The other 2019 recipients included Hyde Park community builders, John and Gloria Golden, global journalist and humanitarian, Zainab Salbi, and champion of gender rights and president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.
“So many people didn't understand or didn't appreciate [Eleanor Roosevelt] or really didn't support her at all in what she was saying,” Hillary Clinton said in her speech. "So I have to say that my daughter understands that at the core of her being, the truest test of a society is how we treat the most vulnerable among us.”
Hillary Clinton with Marist Students. Credit: Tara Guaimano
Other noteable past honorees of the ERVK Medal include Gloria Steinem, Pete Seeger, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Chelsea Clinton ended her speech, "Even in this moment of horror and disappointment in our leaders because we've had leaders like Eleanor Roosevelt before and we will again."
Growing up on the Val-Kill historic site, Gibson works to embody the spirit of her grandmother by moving the needle in social justice. “I lived in the Stone Cottage, and I went to school in Hyde Park,” she said. “The Hudson Valley is my home.”
The foundation aims to honor Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy by inspiring youth across the globe to lead in social justice and humanitarian efforts.
Among their youth programs is Girls’ Leadership Worldwide, which helps raise money for girls ages 14-16 to experience an 8-day leadership program. “This enables us to give these young women an incredible experience where they can begin to develop their own self-confidence and be a leader in their communities in the way they choose,” Gibson said.
“Even in this moment of horror and disappointment in our leaders because we’ve had leaders like Eleanor Roosevelt before and we will again”
The Marist staff, faculty and students that attended the event got the chance to speak with the awardees during the brunch event. Hillary Clinton shared a handshake with Dr. Lee Miringoff as well as some Marist students.
“It was truly humbling and surreal,” said Matt Harris ‘20. “Sometimes I think we forget politicians are real people, not in the sense of their literal humanity, but in the sense of them being complex and feeling people. Hillary Clinton is a personal heroine of mine, and I gained a newfound sense of respect for her as well as other that trade their privacy and normalcy to be something more.”
She shook my hand, “I love Marist college,” she said. “And President Murray.”
Gibson also thanked Marist for its contributions to the historic center over the past few decades. “Marist College has been one of the most wonderful supporters of all of our programs for many years,” she said. “Without the inspiration from Marist, I don’t think we would really be able to do a lot of the things we do.”
“I felt a real sense of hope and solid progress,” Harris said. “Every award recipient contributed to the world in a different way, and it’s incredible to think about how many ways we can do good in the world.”