PHOTO BY JULIANNA LEOPOLD

ATLANTA —St. Pius X High School teacher Dennis Ruggiero was recognized for his notable contributions to the Jewish community during the school’s All Saints’ Day Mass on Nov. 1.  

Ruggiero received the White Rose Award from the White Rose Society. The White Rose Society is an organization devoted to honoring “individuals who have become beacons of hope for the Jewish people by recognizing those who make a difference through their actions,” according to its website.  

“To be recognized by the White Rose Society was an honor and I am truly humbled,” Ruggiero said. 

Rabbi Steven Rau of The Temple, Atlanta, nominated Ruggiero to be a recipient of the White Rose Society award. Recipients do not know beforehand that they have been nominated.  

The You+2 committee, an organization formed by Jewish women and devoted to educating people of all faiths about the Israel-Hamas war and the history of antisemitism, nominated Ruggiero, as well.  

The ceremony, held in the school gymnasium, saw a packed room full of students and faculty all gathered to celebrate Ruggiero’s achievement. An All Saints’ Day Mass followed the surprise presentation. 

Also in attendance was Linda Selig, chair of the White Rose Society, and Anat Sultan-Dadon, the Consul General of Israel of the Southeastern United States.  

Rau expressed his gratitude to the dedicated teacher in his speech during the ceremony. As friends, the two have worked together in educating others about antisemitism and the Holocaust.  

“You have been a constant reminder that the Jewish people are not alone,” Rau shared. “But over the years, I have also come to learn that you were placed on this earth by God as a partner in God’s creation, to make a difference for generations to come.” 

Dennis Ruggiero bows his head as loved ones and friends, from left, Rabbi Steven Rau, Margo Ruggiero, Jean Mahone, Linda Selig, Anat Sultan-Dudon and others pray over him during his ceremony. Ruggiero was a White Rose Award recipient, an achievement that honors those who make a difference in the Jewish community. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Ruggiero’s passion for sharing his knowledge with his students is what led him to be nominated for the White Rose Society award. For 30 years, the educator has been teaching students about theology, along with a course covering genocide and the Holocaust.  

Ruggiero’s Holocaust class is an elective for seniors. Each year, the students go to Washington D.C. to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Students also have the opportunity to go to Germany during the summer to learn more about the history taught in class. 

“I think it is so important for students to learn from this history and to live their lives as true Christians,” Ruggiero said. “It is our call to holiness to live our lives with integrity, faith and love and to speak out when there is injustice and hatred toward any group.”

His lessons, however, go beyond the classroom.

Ruggiero has been an advisory board member at Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust education since 2004. 

In September, Ruggiero spoke at a You+2 and Temple Emanu-El event as a panelist, in which nearly 300 people attended and listened to him talk through the history of Israel and worldwide antisemitism.  

In 2023, Ruggiero invited Hilbert Margol, a Dachau liberator, to share his account from 1945. Students of the genocide and the Holocaust course listened to Margol’s overwhelming stories of the war. 

“Each year, guest speakers, including Holocaust survivors come and speak to my students,” Ruggiero said. “During the unit on antisemitism, Rabbi Steven Rau comes to the class to speak to them about Judaism and the history of antisemitism and what Jews are experiencing today.” 

Ruggiero is an Alfred Lerner Fellow for the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. In his time as an educator, he has visited Israel with the Anti-Defamation League’s Bearing Witness Program and was named the 2005 Georgia Distinguished Educator of the Year, an award for teachers in studies of the Holocaust, character education and diversity. 

“I have been blessed to work with many different organizations,” Ruggiero said. 

Ruggiero’s award from the White Rose Society was a fitting tribute to his decades of passionate work, which have left a legacy not only at St. Pius X High School, but with the Jewish Community.  

“Thank you for your commitment to fighting against antisemitism in all its forms, for teaching and guiding the next generation, and for your friendship to the Jewish community,” Rau shared during the ceremony. “We know you consider it your profession to teach high schoolers about the Holocaust, but we consider it God’s work.”