Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month, observed in the U.S. every year from September 15 to October 15, celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of Hispanic/Latinx individuals to communities in this country. We acknowledge and celebrate the many Latinx communities that have shaped Spartanburg County over history and more recently. The 2020 Census results show that the Hispanic population in Spartanburg County grew by 66.4% from 2010 to 2020. In 2019, Latinx children under the age of 18 represented nearly 10% of all children in South Carolina.

Spartanburg County is home to many young Latinx individuals – those who are growing up here and attending our schools and those who are attending any of our numerous institutions of higher learning. These young people also contribute to our community in many ways and with this blog we celebrate the contributions of a few of them who are students at or recent graduates from Wofford College. Each of the students has been involved in research projects that have enhanced work in our community. Areas of focus include, among others, inclusive placemaking, out-of-school time for Latinx youth, food systems, green spaces + equity. (Links to research projects are included at the bottom of the blog.)

We celebrate these young people!

Kayla Chávez ’

Kayla Chávez ’24, a Spanish major who interned with Hub City Farmers Market and helped launch WoCo CONECTA. WoCo CONECTA is a virtual English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) mentorship program started in the fall of 2020. The vision of this program is to create unity and intersectionality in the Spartanburg community by bridging and breaking down language barriers. Chávez also participated in research on Green Spaces + Equity in Spartanburg.

Paola Cruz

Paola Cruz ’23, a sociology and anthropology and Spanish major, also served as a fellow on a 2021 research project exploring Green Spaces + Equity. Her 2020 research fellowship focused on advancing participatory inclusion of Latinx residents in Spartanburg, S.C., through data dissemination that is both culturally and linguistically inclusive. Based on research done in 2018 to 2020, she and her peers were able to complete a series of projects highlighting information regarding health and education geared toward Latinx youth and adults.

Mariana Gonzalez

Mariana Gonzalez ’21, a psychology major and a sociology and anthropology minor who is a first-generation college graduate. Gonzalez worked with the Summer Food Program sponsored by the Spartanburg Housing Authority. This program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, ensures that children of all households and income levels have the opportunity to eat during the summer months. Gonzalez also worked as a research fellow on student-faculty research project during three consecutive summers. The 2019 research, a continuation of work she did during summer 2018 on inclusive placemaking, involved collaboration with the Spartanburg Academic Movement to record day-in-the life stories from residents in the Highland and Forest Park neighborhoods. Gonzalez and her teammates also looked at out-of-school-time for Latinx students in the area, creating both a report and a podcast to disseminate the project’s findings. At Wofford, Mariana was a Bonner Scholar and a Gateway Scholar. Gonzalez also served as an iCAN mentor.

Mayra Lomeli Garcia

Mayra Lomeli Garcia ’21, a psychology and Spanish double major with a minor in business from Charleston, S.C., collaborated with Spartanburg school district’s administrators and worked with the Resilient Schools program created by the Child Protection Training Center. During the summer of 2020, the group gathered qualitative data and quantitative survey data and conducted interviews with administrators that took the Resilient Schools training on how to treat childhood trauma. The information collected led to a collaborative report that is being prepared for publication. Garcia has spent three summers as a student researcher and co-authored three community-based research reports: “Inclusive PlaceMaking in Spartanburg, SC: Amplifying Latinx Voices through Community-Based Research,” “Contextualizing Kindergarten Readiness Data: A Qualitative Research Study of Forest Park Neighborhood in Spartanburg, S.C.” and “Out of School Time (OST) for Latinx Youth: A Qualitative Research Study in Spartanburg, S.C.,” which can be found in the college’s digital commons. She was a Gateway Scholar at Wofford and also served as a fellow for the iCAN Spartanburg mentorship program.

Sandra López

Sandra López ’21, a native of Enoree, S.C., interned at the Spartanburg Housing Authority and was a research fellow for two consecutive summers. The main focus of her community-engaged qualitative research has been on improving outcomes for children, youth, and families in Spartanburg, S.C. López conducted interviews and collected observations by interviewing individuals in the Latinx community. With community collaborators, she was an invited speaker for the 2019 Global Service Learning conference open plenary. At Wofford, López was a Bonner Scholar, a Gateway Scholar, an iCAN mentor, and a member of Wofford Women of Color, the Organization for Latin American Students and the college’s track and field team.

Hector Ortiz

Hector Ortiz ’22, a native of Saluda, S.C., has served as research fellow on numerous projects and is the 21-22 Presidential International Scholar for Wofford. His research in Spartanburg has focused on improving outcomes for children and youth and on the experiences of Latinx students at Wofford. Through partnerships with the Spartanburg Academic Movement, the Mary Black Foundation and other organizations, the research opened doors and created connections across the Spartanburg community. In addition to his research, Ortiz also interned at St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic. Ortiz is Bonner Scholar, Gateway Scholar, iCan mentor and is secretary for the Organization of Latin American Students.

Marlen Ramirez-Alvarado

Marlen Ramirez-Alvarado ’24, conducted research related to Green Spaces + Equity and participated in a Relaciones Exteriores de México 2021 summer fellowship. In the fall of 2020, Ramirez-Alvarado and team created a virtual English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) mentorship program called WoCo CONECTA. The vision of this program is to create unity and intersectionality in the Spartanburg community by bridging and breaking down language barriers.

We also thank the many Wofford College faculty and staff who support and mentor these and many other students. The research referenced here has been advised by Dr. Laura Barbas Rhoden, professor of Spanish and Dr. Christine Dinkins, Kenan Professor of Philosophy, and supported by the Wofford Office of Undergraduate Research, directed by Dr. Ramón Galiñanes.

For links to all of the research reports, please visit: https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/community/

For links to the podcasts, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8UNyCbmAlGVnbLuVyPrfLQ/playlists

Make sure to follow along at our Facebook and Instagram pages as we continue celebrating these young people.

¡Viva el mes de la Herencia Hispana!