September is Hispanic Heritage Month, and Ferris is set to celebrate the month more than it ever has before.
Looking to kick up awareness and celebration of the month, the Hispanic Student Organization (HSO) has worked since April to plan numerous events for September’s latter half. These events will provide entertainment, information and sharing of Hispanic culture with the entire campus.
“The purpose of Hispanic Heritage Month is to teach other students about Hispanic culture, and also to provide opportunities for other Ferris students to interact with our Latino students on campus. This isn’t just about HSO doing events that are fun for them. This is about bringing awareness to everyone on campus,” student resource coordinator and HSO adviser Natalia Carvalho-Pinto said.
To do this, they’ve scheduled a variety of events, including a speaker, film, dance class, talent show and more.
Coordinators of the events are especially excited for speaker Roberto Garcia. Garcia will be speaking Monday, Sept. 16, about using your past to shape who you are.
Carvalho-Pinto explained what Garcia would address. She said, “How do you find your own identity through leadership and involvement, and how can you use that in the workforce? No matter where you come from, you can use that to find your own identity and be a leader.”
Also noteworthy is “Two Cultures, One Struggle,” an open dialogue led by students from HSO and Black Leaders Aspiring for Critical Knowledge. That event will take place in COB 111 on Sept. 26.
A few events will provide lighter entertainment, while still working to share Hispanic culture with the campus. On Sept. 20, a Latin dance night will be held at the West Campus Community Center from 9 p.m. until midnight. All students will get a chance to learn merengue, salsa, and bachata.
On the following Friday, renowned spoken word poet Michael Reyes will host “Who’s Got Talent?” The event will run from 7 to 9 p.m.
“You only hear about the history, but you’re not really immersed in the culture, which is what we’ll really try to show in the next couple weeks. The movie night, the dance night, the talent night… we try to get students involved,” HSO member Bridget Kroetsch said.
Students will have plenty of opportunities to get involved in the next few weeks, as what could very well become an annual celebration gets underway.