Volunteer of the Month

This month, we would like to feature Miguel Santiago.

Volunteers are the heart of El Sol and we are blessed with so many wonderful members of our community who contribute their time and energy to keeping things running smoothly. Miguel devotes many hours of his time to helping El Sol.

Currently, Miguel works with FPL as an Environmental Audits Manager. He has been with FPL since relocating from Phoenix, Arizona in 1998.

He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and as a child lived in Panama and Missouri military bases with his family. He moved back to Puerto Rico during his junior high school years. He completed a B.S. in Biology and a Masters in Environmental Science from the University of Puerto Rico. He has been married for 24 years to his wife, Yvonne.

Miguel has a great sense of humor and a wonderful disposition and his efficiency allows him to accomplish many things at El Sol.

Miguel has been a volunteer at El Sol almost since the opening day. Though he as a full time job, (Mon-Fri), he spends almost all day every Saturday at El Sol. He is a true Renaissance Man here at the center. While most of us spend our hours at one volunteer position, Miguel does practically all of them.

He begins by teaching a morning computer class, then goes to the kitchen to help serve lunch. Afterwards, he returns to conduct an afternoon computer lab for grateful workers who can email friends and family and check their country's web site for local happenings. In addition, he is often asked to act as translator for workers who need help from an English speaking volunteer.

If that isn't enough, just last week, he and two other outstanding volunteers, Rosie Castro and Eduardo Lopez, undertook to pressure clean and seal our kitchen floor. Miguel is invaluable to our center's operations and we are so appreciative of all he does.