The Hispanic/Latino Graduate Student Association (H/LGSA) at the University of Delaware hosted its first Hispanic Heritage Month celebration on Oct. 20 in Wolf Hall.

Hispanic Heritage Month is a nationwide celebration that recognizes the heritage, culture and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The keynote speaker for the event was Gladys Ilarregui, associate professor of colonial and Latin America studies at UD.

During her speech, Ilarregui addressed the value of being Latin@ in the United States from a personal and professional perspective. She emphasized that the combination between the exposure to a different culture and the education received in their academic institutions, provide students with resources they need to achieve their goals.

Ilarregui also highlighted the social responsibility that students have with their communities and their home countries; by using their knowledge in developing new methods that improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable communities.

The event also provided networking opportunities with other graduate students from several countries and departments through games, music, and traditional food from Central and South America. These activities offered an informal environment, allowing the participants to have engaging conversations, share their experiences, and exchange ideas to strengthen the graduate Latin@ community at UD.

“This is a great opportunity to promote diversity, community, and leadership”, said Graciela Perez, master’s degree student in criminology and vice president of H/LGSA.

The Hispanic/Latino Graduate Student Association (H/LGSA) is a new organization created in April. The organization is open to all students from any department or program at UD who have an interest in forming a community and in supporting Hispanic/Latin@ graduate students accomplish their long-term goals as professionals.

Four graduate students from UD are part of the H/LGSA executive board: Barbara Romero, doctoral student in biological sciences; Graciela Perez, master’s degree student in criminology; Samual Allgood, doctoral student in biological sciences; and Silvia Galván-Núñez, doctoral student in civil engineering.

For more information about the organization, contact the H/LGSA team at hlgsa-exec@udel.edu.