Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s On the Ground Battle Creek series.
While acknowledging the work of those who came before them, members of Battle Creek’s Latin American Heritage Initiative also recognize that future success and prosperity will depend on educational opportunities for their youth.
As part of the organization’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month this year, they awarded 12 computers to Latinx families in Battle Creek and eight scholarships, valued at $500 each to Latinx high school seniors attending high school at one of 12 school districts in Calhoun County or already attending college, says Lucy Mosquera, a founding member of the Initiative and co-publisher of Nueva Opinion, the Spanish-language newspaper based in Battle Creek.
The scholarship recipients are: Yahir Soto, Battle Creek Central High School; Tiffany Carhuayo, Kellogg Community College; Sullay Garcia, Michigan State University; Sharnell Fabian Romero, Battle Creek Central High School; Rosa Hernandez, Battle Creek Central High School; Macarena Ortiz-Sosa, Battle Creek Central High School; Leslie Gonzalez, Western Michigan University; and, Janhing Sanchez, Western Michigan University.
“One focus in our organization is to promote education. We want our Latinos to pursue higher education,” Mosquera says. “As a Latina woman, and as an immigrant, I would like to see immigrants educated and in high positions. I want to see Latinos as lawyers, doctors, and engineers.”
Interested students were asked by the BCLAHI to write an essay about how Latin culture has changed their lives and made them the person they are today. Mosquera says 18 essays were received and the winners of the scholarships, which may be used at a four-year college, trade school, or community college, were announced during a Facebook Live event on Friday.
To provide additional support to students and their families, the Battle Creek’s Latin American Heritage Initiative decided to give away computers. Mosquera says there are Latinx families in the community who don’t have the financial means to purchase a computer, which has become a necessity during the pandemic, and the on-again, off-again pivots to a virtual learning format.
“Many of the parents don’t have laptop technology at their house,” Mosquera says. “It’s good for them and their kids to be connected with the schools.”
Lucy Mosquera, a founding member of the Battle Creek Latin American Heritage Initiative and co-founder of Nueva Opinion, a Spanish language newspaper based in Battle creek, addresses the audience during a Sept. 25 gathering at Friendship Park.Drop boxes placed inside Hispanic-owned businesses in Battle Creek and Willard Public Library enabled families to fill out a paper form if they were interested in entering drawings for the computers. There also was a form they could fill out on the BCLAHI Facebook page. Mosquera says 24 families filled out the forms to receive one of the 12 computers during giveaways that began shortly after the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed Sept. 16 through Oct. 16 and will continue until Oct. 8.
Funds for the computers and the scholarships were provided by sponsors including the Battle Creek Community Foundation, PNC Bank, Café Rica, the United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region, Battle Creek Public Schools, and Battle Creek Unlimited. The sponsors also provided funding to bring in Latinx musicians, authors and artists who participated in the local Hispanic Heritage Month activities.
However, sponsorship dollars stretch beyond Hispanic Heritage Month, says Jesús M. Grillo Trujillo, co-publisher …….