Mount St. Mary’s University proudly celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15 with a cultural sample of Latinx dining, arts, and entertainment. All Mount students, faculty and staff are invited to experience the delicious tastes of Latin American foods, the sounds of Mexican folk music and dance performances from Huasteca and Jalisco, the films of Mariano Barroso’s “In the Time of the Butterflies” and John Malkovich’s “The Dancer Upstairs,” and panel discussions on topics exploring Latinx empowerment, leadership, education and technology.
All virtual events will be livestreamed and available on the Center for Student Diversity’s Facebook page.
“Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the contributions of different Hispanic leaders in American history; it’s a month to showcase a culture and celebrate it,” said Assistant Director of the Center for Student Diversity Areli Aguilar-Hill, who is Hispanic and originally from Peru. “I look forward to celebrating and educating the Mount community about the remarkable successes of who we are—and hope to give them a better understanding of what we bring to history and this community.”
National Hispanic Heritage Month kicked off tonight with a sample of Latin American cuisine from dining services. Executive Chef Kristopher Francella prepared a Peruvian chopped salad, ropa vieja, pollo en Jocón, frijoles negros, Spanish rice and a sweet tres leches cake.
This year’s celebration includes inspirational and passionate speakers who have championed the Latinx community through public service, advocacy, education, empowerment, journalism and legislation, to name a few.
“We worked hard to have more meaningful events this year that students and the community would be more interested in,” said Aguilar-Hill.
Highlights of the National Hispanic Heritage Month include three Leaders Panel Discussions focused on civil rights, leadership and education.
On Wednesday, September 16, students can learn about Latinx civil rights from Enrique Chaurand and Eric Rodriguez.
Enrique Chaurand is the senior vice president of external affairs and communications for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. He previously served in the Clinton and Obama administrations as a speechwriter and public affairs deputy at the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services. He also spent time as a reporter with both the Kansas City Star and Mesa Tribune newspapers.
Eric Rodriguez oversees policy and advocacy for UnidosUS, a leading Latino group, and directs the organization’s legislative affairs, public policy research, policy analysis and field advocacy work. He is responsible for the UnidosUS federal and state legislative priorities and agenda and has extensive experience on issues including tax policy, Social Security reform, welfare reform, workforce development, retirement security and housing and financial market regulations.
On Wednesday, September 30, students can learn about Latina empowerment through leadership from Ilia Rodríquez, Rocío Inclán and Teresa Chaurand.
As senior manager for government relations at Accenture, Ilia Rodríguez works with businesses to develop and implement political strategies to elevate Accenture’s profile and policy priorities with Members of Congress.
Inclán is senior director of the National Education Association’s Center for Social Justice and a former teacher.
Teresa Chaurand, owner of Madison West Consulting, served as a former special assistant under the Obama administration and as former director of intergovernmental and external affairs for the Peace Corps.
On Wednesday, October 7, students can learn about education policy and Latinx representation in tech companies from Roberto Rodríguez and Daniel Sepulveda.
Roberto Rodríguez, president and CEO of Teach Plus, has dedicated his career to advancing equity, access and excellence in education. He previously served in senior roles in the U.S. Senate and White House. From 2009 to 2017, he developed and led Obama’s education initiatives to build systemic change and improve opportunity and outcomes across the educational continuum. He also led legislative and education policy development efforts for the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Sepulveda, senior vice president for policy and advocacy at MediaMath, previously spent two decades in public service and under the Obama administration served as ambassador and deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department under Secretary of State John Kerry—traveling the world working on high-level initiatives including cyber policy, digital economy, internet governance and human rights.
In addition to Aguilar-Hill and student leaders in the Center for Student Diversity, this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month was made possible by many in the Mount community, including Vice President for Student Life Bernard Franklin, Ph.D., and Assistant Dean and Director of the Center for Student Diversity Leon Dixon.
The Mount is proud to celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion excellence. “All of us are called to live out the Mount value of inclusion,” said President Timothy E. Trainor. “The Mount must harness the energy crafted by diversity of thought and engendered by a richly diverse staff, faculty and student body to ensure all feel welcome and included. When we truly embody the Catholic vision of the person, inclusion naturally follows."
The Mount’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement is available here.