COMMUNITY CELEBRATES HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

Hispanic Heritage Month runs each year from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

Rockhurst students and faculty worked to promote the importance of Hispanic Heritage through testimonials from RHS community members shared with the school. Mateo DeLaTorre ’22 also moderated a faculty panel during an Activity Period that featured five Rockhurst teachers with Hispanic backgrounds.

Also during these four weeks, the Student Government Association (SGA) sold raffle shares for prizes including autographed Royals and Sporting KC jerseys, raising money for donations to the Hispanic Development Fund. In March 2021, four Hurtado Scholars graduates and members of Rockhurst’s Class of 2022 received college scholarships from the Hispanic Development Fund. Each scholarship was matched by their college or university.

The following quotes were taken from alumni testimonial videos:

“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN PROUD OF BEING A MEXICAN-AMERICAN, EVEN BACK TO MY DAYS AS A HIGH SCHOOLER. I TRULY ENJOYED PROVIDING MY CLASSMATES WITH INSIGHT INTO MY CULTURE. ROCKHURST AND MY HISPANIC HERITAGE ARE TWO EXPERIENCES THAT HAVE SHAPED WHO I AM TODAY. I’M PROUD TO CELEBRATE THIS MONTH, AND ALL YEAR-ROUND.”

-BOB PAREDES ’93

“MY HISPANIC HERITAGE MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME. IT’S PART OF MY IDENTITY, AND PART OF MY BLOOD - LITERALLY. BUT IT’S ALSO BEEN A BIG PART OF MY EXPERIENCE AND TIME AT ROCKHURST, AS WELL AS ESTABLISHING THE PERSON I HAVE BECOME IN MY LIFE. GROWING UP WITH PERUVIAN CULTURE WAS A SOURCE OF PRIDE AND SOMETHING THAT MADE ME UNIQUE, AND ALSO ADDED TO WHAT WAS A LESS-DIVERSE ROCKHURST POPULATION AT THAT TIME.”

“MY HISPANIC HERITAGE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AS IT HAS GIVEN ME MANY VALUES TO LIVE BY AND HAS SHAPED ME INTO THE MAN I AM TODAY. I AM MOST GRATEFUL FOR THE FACT THAT I GET TO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH TWO LENSES - THROUGH THE TWO CULTURES I HAVE BEEN MIXED WITH.”

-JOSHUA

-DAN CALDERON ’99

“THINKING ABOUT MY HISPANIC HERITAGE, IT’S SUCH A VITAL PART OF MY IDENTITY AND I’M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT MY ROCKHURST FAMILY NOT ONLY SUPPORTED THAT HERITAGE, BUT ALSO EMBRACED IT.”

-ANDRESRODRIGUEZ-BURNS ’11