Students gathered on Wednesday afternoon in room 102 of Benedum Hall for a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration hosted by the Engineering Office of Diversity. The “Leveraging Cultural Competency for Student Success” event featured speaker Dr. Belkys Torres, associate vice provost for Inclusive Excellence in Education and teaching assistant professor of Latinx and gender studies, who spoke on student inclusion, identification and culture.

Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual commemoration of culture and history from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. Sussan Yetunde Olaore, associate director for Diversity and Inclusion Graduate Programs at the Swanson School of Engineering, highlighted the ways that Swanson hopes to empower all of its members.

“The celebration is not only students focused,” Olaore said. “We want our students, the faculty and staff at the Swanson School of Engineering to know that there is unity in diversity, and they should celebrate each other’s differences and culture. They should see the benefits of celebrating the culture of others and what brings us together rather than what divides us. By doing this, we provide a sense of belonging to all.”

Camila Iglesias, junior electrical engineering student, shared how important the event was to her, saying it felt “nice having an event that’s representing me.”

“I think it really shows that we have a community here,” Iglesias said. “And makes people that are part of the [Latinx/Hispanic] community feel more welcomed and feel like they’re a part of something. And it’s one of the safe spaces for us to hang out for a little bit.”

Lucian Acosta, junior environmental engineering student and member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers club at Pitt, reiterated his excitement for the event. 

“It seemed like a great event to have an inclusive area for everyone celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, as well as represent [Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers club at Pitt],” Acosta said. “[The club is a] community for Hispanics who are in the engineering field to be able to come together and network and find a safe place to expand and find themselves as well.”

Torres began her presentation to the crowd by acknowledging the historical significance of Hispanic Heritage Month. 

“Representation matters,” Torres said. “Not just because of where people come from or their background experiences, but because of what they bring to the table.”

For many minorities, there is tension between identifying with their ethnic background and embracing their American identity. Torres explained the concept of “intercultural confidence,” which is the ability to shift perspective to express and be proud of your culture in every environment, regardless of who’s around.

“Diversity means we all come with a mix of experiences,” Torres said. “Some of those experiences really matter to the work, and those are the things that we need to understand and harness. Whether my hair is curly or straight has absolutely no bearing on my intellectual capacity, so let’s not waste any time. Let’s focus on the things that I bring … that allow us to really learn from one another.” 

Mary-Aleyde Angbanzan, the social innovation coordinator at the Frederick Honors College, is familiar with the stereotypes that physical appearance and ethnic names have.

“I am deeply aware of how my name often speaks for itself, but I have come to be proud of it,” Angbanzan said. “My name is a connection between my Ivorian and American roots, and embracing it is important to being my most authentic self.” 

She also proposed the new strategy, “Plan for Pitt,” set to go into motion in 2028, which is aimed at promoting inclusivity and diversity. The plan emphasizes creating spaces for students to express their levels of intercultural confidence and foster inclusion. 

“I have hope that what we do here matters.” Torres said. 

As Latinx-Hispanic Heritage month ends this week, Dr. Torres said that Pitt is “deeply committed to this work year-round, so what we’re doing is building opportunities to continue the dialogue that we started this month to continue a series of conversations of educational opportunities of engagement and activities.” 

Those seeking resources at Pitt can visit the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on the 18th floor of the Cathedral.