David Medina, retired director of Multicultural Community Relations at Rice University, was recently honored by both the Mexican government and Harris County in recognition of his longtime service and contributions to the community.
The Ohtli Award is one of the highest honors given by the Mexican government to individuals who have significantly aided, empowered or improved the lives of Mexican nationals living in the United States. The word “ohtli” comes from Nahuatl, a Native American language spoken in Mexico, and means “road,” which symbolizes the paving of the way to help others.
The Legacy Award, given on behalf of Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, was given in recognition of Medina’s longstanding contributions to Houston’s Latino community, including years of work in education, community engagement and cultural programming, as well as his dedication to strengthening connections between Houston communities and Rice.
“This recognition holds special significance because it comes at a time when celebrating our culture is more important than ever,” Medina said. “All too often, our communities are underestimated, ignored or treated without the dignity we deserve, but the truth is evident: This country is stronger because of us. Our people build roads, homes, schools, businesses, gardens and neighborhoods. We teach, heal, guide, organize, create, protect and serve.
“We contribute to every sphere of society: from community centers to university classrooms, from city halls to the courts and from hospitals and small businesses to public institutions. Furthermore, we bring the richness of our culture to this nation: the Spanish language, our literature, history, cuisine, music, art, faith, family traditions and diverse ways of understanding the world. We offer our hands, our minds and our hearts.”
Medina retired from Rice University this spring after 35 years of service, most of them as director of Multicultural Community Relations. Medina was responsible for strengthening the university’s relationships with Houston’s diverse ethnic communities. He advanced that work by organizing and participating in more than 100 community engagement activities each year, reaching more than 10,000 people annually.
These activities included college information sessions, school visits, community dialogue luncheons, lectures, film festivals, media relations, college essay-writing workshops, galas, receptions and other community events. In addition, he published a quarterly newsletter that raised awareness of the university’s outreach efforts. As a service to the community, he created a website that contained a comprehensive list of scholarships available to local students. Multicultural Community Relations also developed a database of more than 1,700 community leaders.
Medina proved instrumental in organizing a community forum for the Mexican consulate, which took place at Rice and drew more than 200 people who attended a series of workshops centered on education, health and leadership.