For Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate past GP parent Ms. Maricel Perez Martinis. Ms. Maricel Perez is a lifelong resident of David (Provincia de Chiriqui) in her native Republic of Panama. She studied at Georgetown University during the Summer of 1964 and graduated from Immaculata College, Washington DC, in 1966. For twenty-seven years, Ms. Perez Martinis served as the Head of Human Resources at Grupo Corporativo Perez (GCP) which was founded in 1946. Today the company has grown into a multifaceted company that offers a diverse range of products and services in the areas of car dealerships, real estate, insurance, finance, logistics and the energy sector. She successfully supported the company’s growth and expansion during times of good fortune and those of challenge, including the invasion of Panama in 1989. She currently still serves on the Board of Directors of GCP. Maricel‘s newest chapter stands out as a true role model for her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews as she has taken up a passion for sustainable farming in Volcán, in the heart of the breadbasket of Panama. She even boasts her own boutique brand called “Rico Tico en Sueno.”

Her family has a long history and connection with Georgetown Prep. A strong believer in Catholic education and wanting Jesuit/Ignatian formation for her children she sent her sons (Roy A. Galan ’91 and Tomas E. Galan P. ’98), to Georgetown Prep, along with all of her grandsons (Tomas E. Galan K. ’22, Philippe A. Daubert ’22, Marc A. Daubert ’22), and her nephews (Richard Altieri ’91, Francisco Altieri ’06, Jorge Ricardo Perez ’98). They all benefited greatly as resident students at Georgetown Prep.
 
She praises the values her boys learned at Georgetown Prep, the guidance and support of the International Programs Department and unique bonds created by the boarding program – all which enriched the lives not only of her family members but those of so many other GP students.