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Over 100 students were recognized at ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ’s first Celebrating Hispanic Excellence Reception for excelling academically and for serving as student leaders at this institution. These students, in the company of their family members and friends, were recognized at this formal reception, which helped kick-off Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Celebrating Hispanic Excellence is an opportunity for us, at ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ, to highlight the positive contribution of our Hispanic students to this institution,” says Imelda Wicks, Executive Director of Global Diversity, Inclusive Excellence and Training.  “At ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ approximately 17% of our student body and 11% of our workforce self-identifies as Hispanic. In the United States there are more than 57 million Hispanics, and although Hispanics are the largest minority group in the country, they are still underrepresented.”

Family members and honorees received words of encouragement from four Hispanic ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ alumni, who served as keynote speakers and were also awarded the first Celebrating Hispanic Excellence Award: Humberto Hernandez, Ph.D., alumnus of ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ now Visual Science Post-Doctoral Fellow at Baylor College of Medicine; Samantha Rodriguez, alumna of ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ now School Counselor; Mary Carmen Alvarez, alumna of ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ now Spanish Teacher at Odom Academy; and Ernesto Alvarez, Jr., J.D., alumnus of ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ now Attorney at Orgain Bell & Tucker, LLP.