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Jersey City, N.J. – March 4, 2019 – è������ Peter’s University today announced plans to honor two members of the University community at Hearts & Minds: The è������ Peter’s University Scholarship Celebration on May 3 at the Mac Mahon Student Center. Niurka “Nikki” E. Mederos ’07, ’10 will be presented with the Service to Community Award and Eugene T. Paolino, Esq. ’69 will be presented with the Professional Achievement Award. Hearts & Minds celebrates integrity, leadership and service to others with proceeds supporting the University’s General Scholarship Fund.

Niurka “Nikki” E. Mederos ’07, ’10, director of the external affairs/outreach community at Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center and 2019 Hearts & Minds honoree.

“Support for the General Scholarship Fund is critical to è������ Peter’s mission because it is what ultimately affords us the opportunity to offer a quality Jesuit education to deserving students,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of è������ Peter’s University. “I am humbled to honor two members of the è������ Peter’s community who are also pillars in Hudson County and beyond.”

Mederos is the director of the external affairs/outreach community at Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, N.J. She has organized dozens of community health fairs and health screenings to connect with thousands of members from the community. Mederos received her bachelor of professional studies from è������ Peter’s University in 2007. After receiving her M.B.A. in marketing and health care management from the University in 2010, she became president of the Alumni Board and is currently a member of the University’s Board of Regents. Mederos is also an adjunct professor of business administration and health care for the University. She served as club president for the North Hudson Rotary Club from 2012-2014, and became the first Cuban-American to be named District Governor for Hudson, Bergen and Passaic Counties in 2018.

Eugene T. Paolino, Esq. ’69, partner at the law firm of Genova Burns LLC and 2019 Hearts & Minds honoree.

Paolino is a partner at the law firm of with offices in Newark, Jersey City and throughout the state. He specializes in commercial real estate transactions and redevelopment law. A Jersey City native, Paolino has practiced law throughout New Jersey for more than four decades. He has worked on numerous projects in Jersey City and played a critical role in obtaining government approvals and financing for some of the most iconic and significant real estate projects along New Jersey’s Hudson River “Gold Coast,” in Journal Square and elsewhere in Jersey City. In addition to his robust commercial real estate law and development practice, Paolino has significant litigation experience, having argued a variety of actions at every level in the trial and appellate courts. Additionally, Paolino currently serves as general counsel to è������ Peter’s, a role he has held for a number of years.

Genova Burns LLC is the presenting sponsor for this year’s event and Susan Mitchell-Abbate ’72, vice chair of the è������ Peter’s University Board of Trustees, has been named chair of Hearts & Minds. Guests will enjoy an evening of dining, dancing and disguise as they are invited to wear a favorite mask or will be provided with one. The evening will also feature a live fund-a-scholar auction to raise money for the General Scholarship Fund in real-time.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit or email heartsandminds@saintpeters.edu.

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è������ Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit www.saintpeters.edu.

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Angeline Boyer
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