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At just 17, Rolando Santiago took a courageous step, leaving his Spanish-speaking home in Puerto Rico to immerse himself in the English-speaking environment of Eastern Mennonite School in Harrisonburg Virginia. Drawn by his Mennonite heritage and a desire to prepare for college in the U.S., Rolando found friendship and belonging amidst growth at EMHS in his senior year. Reflecting on his experience, he recalls, \u201cI was warmly welcomed at EMHS, and I cherished my experience there.\u201d This supportive environment became the foundation for a year rich in exploration and personal growth.<\/p>\n
Harmony and Exploration<\/strong><\/p>\n Music became a cornerstone of Rolando\u2019s EMS experience. As a member of the Touring Choir, his voice resonated beyond the school\u2019s walls, even contributing to the recording of an album\u2014a memory he recalls with a smile. His passion for music was further nurtured through voice lessons with Mr. Marvin Miller, instilling a love for harmony that continues to enrich his life today.<\/p>\n Guided by Mentors<\/strong><\/p>\n The influence of educators Jim Rush and Harvey Yoder was pivotal in shaping Rolando’s outlook on the world. Mr. Rush\u2019s engaging projects ignited Rolando\u2019s interest in government and social issues, engaging in serious conversation about the pressing issues of the day, including the draft. Mr. Yoder\u2019s course on emergent issues provided invaluable insights into church and community building\u2014a theme that would become central to Rolando\u2019s professional and personal endeavors. Rolando has served on health and human service boards globally and lectured at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for two decades. His academic achievements include earning a PhD in educational psychology and statistics from the University at Albany, State University of New York.<\/p>\n From Education to Professional Life<\/strong><\/p>\n Spanning fourteen years in public behavioral health services, including seven years with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rolando\u2019s work focused on evaluating programs supporting children and adolescents with serious emotional disorders. He also dedicated twenty years to faith-based Anabaptist Mennonite organizations, notably serving as Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee U.S. for six of those years.<\/p>\n Rolando has served on health and human service boards globally and lectured at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for two decades. His academic achievements include earning a PhD in educational psychology and statistics from the University at Albany, State University of New York.<\/p>\n A Life Rooted in Faith and Service<\/strong><\/p>\n Rolando is an active member of Neffsville Mennonite Church, where he leads the missions committee, sings in the choir, and teaches adult Sunday School. Alongside his wife of 43 years, Raquel Trinidad, he cherishes time with their two children and five grandchildren. His passions include caring for his 93-year-old mother, running, gardening, and contributing to writing projects on the Mennonite experience in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n Rolando Santiago\u2019s story is evidence that EMS – a place where faith, community, and learning intertwine – shapes lives of purpose and service. As we celebrate his journey then and now, we are reminded of the enduring influence of education in the Eastern Mennonite tradition and the transformative power of a single year dedicated to growth and discovery and the bravery it took to venture into the unknown and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Life-Changing Year at Eastern Mennonite School A Leap into a New World At just 17, Rolando Santiago took a courageous step, leaving his Spanish-speaking home in Puerto Rico to immerse himself in the English-speaking environment of Eastern Mennonite School in Harrisonburg Virginia. Drawn by his Mennonite heritage and a desire to prepare for college in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1097,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"issuem_issue":[42],"issuem_issue_categories":[],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"class_list":["post-1073","article","type-article","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issuem_issue-fall-2025"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1098,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1073\/revisions\/1098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=1073"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=1073"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=1073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Speaking-1-300x237.jpg\")
Rolando L. Santiago, PhD, retired in 2024 after a distinguished career in both church and public service organizations at local, state, and national levels. His most recent role was as Chief of Behavioral Health and Crisis Services in Montgomery County, MD, where he led a team of 260 professionals, serving over 12,000 individuals annually with a $61 million budget.<\/p>\n