The University of Delaware’s “Latino Heritage Month and Beyond,” planned annually in early fall, will include a visit by Diane Guerrero on Sept. 27. The event is free and open to all, but space is limited and RSVP is required. UD students, faculty and staff can reserve free seats online now through September 20, at which time public seating will become available.

Diane Guerrero, a daughter of Colombian immigrants, experienced great adversity as a teenager when she was separated from her parents due to immigration laws. Guerrero persevered and now uses her platform to discuss her experiences of a divided family to unify communities. In 2015, Guerrero was named a White House Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization and has worked with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Mi Familia Vota. Guerrero’s 2016 memoir, In the Country We Love, is a tale of one woman’s extraordinary resilience in the face of struggles of undocumented residents in this country. She is an outspoken advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and best known for her work in Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin. Guerrero will share her story of finding hope, overcoming adversity, and achieving success at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27 in the University of Delaware’s Mitchell Hall.

The 2017 Latino Heritage Month Extravaganza is organized by the Center for Black Culture with support from other Division of Student Life groups including Career Services Center, Residence Life and Housing, Center for Counseling and Student Development and student groups HOLA, Lambda Sigma Upsilon Fraternity, Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Caribbean Student Alliance, Delaware African Student Association, and Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority. Other campus partners include the Department of Theatre, Center for Global and Area Studies, Latin American and Iberian Studies, Center for the Study of Diversity, and the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

Details about additional Latino Heritage Month events, including HOLA’s annual Fiesta Latina celebration, will be available throughout the month at udel.edu/studentlife/cbc.