In March of 2022, East Tennessee State University is set to host the 21st annual Hispanic Student Day.
Hispanic Student Day is entirely organized, planned and hosted by service-learning students involved with the Language and Culture Resource Center, an organization whose “vision is to bridge boundaries between the native English-speaking communities and non-English speaking communities in East Tennessee.”
“The annual event brings over 400 local high school students of Hispanic heritage to the university for a one-day introduction to college life after high school,” reads the Language and Culture Resource Center’s website. “Our goal is to encourage Hispanic students to complete high school and further their education.”
Hispanic Student Day was started by the LCRC in the early 2000’s. According to the LCRC website, the goal of Hispanic Student Day is to be a reference both inside and outside of ETSU for translation and interpretation services, starting connections between the different types of cultures that can be found intermixing on a college campus and creating a space where everyone is welcome.
Hispanic Student Day primarily focuses on the Hispanic student population. Hispanic Student Day will feature advisement with staff members from ETSU, informational presentations and a keynote speaker.
The Language and Culture Resource Center was founded by Dr. Ardis Lorraine Nelson in 2000. She spent 23 years at ETSU teaching, serving and creating before her death in 2017. The LCRC has hosted multiple culture-inspired events during its lifetime, such as the Corazon Latino Festival, the summer Migrant Student Leadership Conference, the XCELL Mentor Program and, of course, Hispanic Student Day.
To learn more about Hispanic Student Day, visit www.etsu.edu/cas/lcrc/events/hispanicday.
