Midlands Tech hosts 3rd annual Hispanic heritage celebration

Students walking out of class were greeted with Latin music, craft and informational booths and a food truck.

Midlands Technical College’s Airport campus this week joined the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, showcasing artwork, piñatas, food and informational displays.

Patrick Bennett, Tech’s executive director for access and opportunity, said it’s important to feel seen, valued and heard at any college.

“I want them to not only understand the richness of Hispanic culture, but I want them to have a sense of belonging on our campus here at Midlands Tech,” Bennett said. Midlands Tech is “really about making sure our students belong and feel like they’re part of our culture.”

Students were given a card and received a voucher for free food if they collected signatures from six booths.

Hispanic cuisine such as street corn, tacos, quesadillas and nachos were on the menu.

The celebration wasn’t just about showcasing culture for Midlands Tech’s foreign language coordinator, Doris Gilliam.

It was also about connections.

“This is just one of the many ways to get students to come by, see what’s going on, find out information about the college, see some of their friends and get free food,” Gilliam said. “As a commuter campus, it’s more than just coming to take a class.”

Drake DelosSantos, Tech’s public relations manager, said the college serves a wide range of demographics.

“America is a melting pot of a country,” he said. “We have over 300 different languages that are spoken here in the Southeastern United States alone. Events like this just really help us promote what we’re doing as a college and services that we offer to Hispanic immigrants.”

The U.S. Hispanic population grew by 1.16 million from 2022-23, reaching more than 65 million people, and is growing at a faster rate than the non-Hispanic population, according to the Census Bureau.

The event allows others to learn about a culture they may not be aware of on a day-to-day basis, DelosSantos said.

Student advisory vice president Sofia Aranzazu Rios said such events like these are a great opportunity.

“We have a big Hispanic community here,” Rios said. “It is very important to feel seen and valued here at the college.”

Hispanic Heritage Month doesn’t follow a traditional month.

It runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 because many Latin American countries celebrate their independence days during this timeframe.

“Next year, we’re hoping it will even be bigger and better,” Gilliam said. “We’re just really excited to share these contributions and share with our entire campus.”