Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) continues to find ways to highlight Hispanic heritage as National Hispanic Heritage Month rolls forward.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, was created by Congress to celebrate Hispanic culture and mark the anniversary of independence of several Latin American countries.

Highlighting Hispanic culture aligns well with ARCC’s strategic initiative to foster diversity across all areas of the college. Other efforts to broaden diversity include the recent hiring of Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs Keith Brooks.

Cardina Esparza (left), ARCC Upward Bound Advisor, and Keith Brooks (right), ARCC Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, congratulate members of Mixed Blood Theatre just after their performance of “Minnecanos” at the Coon Rapids Campus Performing Arts Center.

Ushering in National Hispanic Heritage month, the college celebrated a unique achievement of ARCC student Laurencio Lechuga Morales. In early September, Morales had a class paper published in a prominent Twin Cities Spanish-language publication, Gente de Minnesota. Morales, who works as an interpreter/translator in the Twin Cities Latino community, wrote about his beliefs that recent Hispanic immigrants must make a greater effort to enroll their young children in early childhood education programs. Morales wrote the paper for an English course at ARCC, and then translated it to Spanish for Gente de Minnesota. Morales represents just one of the 1.1 percent of ARCC's student population that identifies itself as Hispanic.

In the last week of September, the college welcomed the Mixed Blood Theatre Company to the Coon Rapids Campus for a performance of “Minnecanos.” The musical performance is a buoyant celebration of the accomplishments, character, and aspirations of Latinos in Minnesota and across the country. Minneapolis-based Mixed Blood Theatre Company is a professional multi-racial theatre company promoting cultural pluralism, individual equality, and artistic excellence.

Finally, ARCC students are able to learn about Hispanic individuals that have contributed to world culture, thanks to prominent displays of biographical posters in the Coon Rapids campus cafeteria and a showcase of Hispanic writers in the Coon Rapids campus library. The displays celebrate the accomplishments of such luminaries as Cesar Chavez, Jaime Escalante, Roberto Clemente, Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda, and many others.

ARCC celebrates diverse cultures throughout the year, including observance of Native American Heritage Month in November, Black History Month in February, Women’s History Month in March, Asian American Heritage Month in May and Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in June.

ABOUT ANOKA-RAMSEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Anoka-Ramsey Community College, with campuses in Cambridge and Coon Rapids, has been a leading provider of higher education and training in East Central Minnesota since 1978 and the north suburban area of Minneapolis/St. Paul since 1965. Annually, the college serves more than 9,700 learners of all ages as they pursue associate degrees that transfer as the first two years of a bachelor's degree, or certificate programs that lead immediately to rewarding careers. ARCC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.