The Office of Latino, Asian and Native American Affairs (LANA) celebrated the fifth annual Amigos Latinos Gala was held Thursday, April 6 in the Nutter Center. Students celebrated culture and diversity with a variety of Latinx dishes, music and dancing.
Since the merge between the Office of Latino Affairs and the Asian and Native American Center into one, the gala has been only partially shaped by this change.
“I have only seen the positive impacts. This year a record amount of Asian students are attending the gala in support of their Latinx peers,” said Julia Acosta, director for the Latino, Asian and Native American Affairs.
The merge has also allowed the diverse communities to join together to promote cultural diversity and work towards spotlighting the different events.
“LANA is focusing on the fifth annual Amigos Latinos Gala and Asian Culture Night. It's been a busy time but our student workers, graduate assistant, Mia Honaker and I have jumped in to make this event great. Since the merger of LANA, we support, allocate and do our best for students at WSU,” Acosta stated.
The main significance of the gala is to grant opportunities for Latinx students and raise scholarship money. “It's one night we can gather together as a school and a community to support students at Wright State University. For me personally, I love seeing our students feel welcome, appreciated and supported at WSU,” Acosta said.
The gala had a new addition this year: student spotlights occurred throughout the night. It provided an opportunity to showcase talented Latinx students.
“Our students have the opportunity to connect and meet their peers, faculty, staff, students from other neighboring institutions, meet community members and vice versa. It's a great thing for the community to see our Latinx students and what the next generation of leaders bring to the area,” Acosta shared.
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