SIS Students Create and Launch New Latino Student Organization Focused on Graduate Students

As first semester graduate students at SIS, Karen Perez Torres, SIS/MA '24, and Mateo Maya, SIS/MA '24, found themselves frequently talking about the need for a graduate level Latino student association at AU. In his second semester, Maya learned that the existence of such an organization would allow AU students to connect to a whole network of Latino student groups across DC. Meanwhile, Perez Torres connected with other interested students through her work at AU's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS). From these realizations and connections, the idea for the Association for Latino Career Enhancement (ALCE) was born.

Maya connected with Claudia Rivera Garcia, SIS/MA '23, who was the Graduate Leadership Council's club director at the time. She helped Maya and Perez Torres navigate the steps to create a new club on campus. The time needed to draft a constitution and create the necessary documents for a new club can be daunting for busy graduate students, but Maya and Perez Torres found the time in their schedules, even when it meant staying on campus until midnight after their evening classes ended.

The primary focus of the association is to create community and a resilient network of Latino students at AU. As they chose the Association of Latino Career Enhancement (ALCE) for the club's name, the student leaders envisioned utilizing a range of events and the communication of extracurricular opportunities in Washington, DC, as mainstays of their activities. Karen Perrez Torres took on the role of the club's inaugural president. The students asked CLALS director and CAS professor Ernesto Castañeda to be the club's advisor.

"The students took the initiative in forming the organization, and they set the priorities," said Castañeda.

ALCE was formed with a commitment to creating a supportive community for Hispanic, Latin American, and Caribbean graduate students, in addition to individuals interested in the region. ALCE wants to provide opportunities for service, networking, and allyship through various events to enhance career development in the community. ALCE uses social media channels, including Instagram and WhatsApp, to plan gatherings outside of classes throughout the semester where students can get to know each other.

By fall 2023, the club was officially active and the students who had set the plans in motion worked to recruit new grad students into the club and into leadership positions. The participation of a group of students in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's (CHCI) annual Leadership Conference offered a boon to their early recruitment efforts. The Conference is designed to connect and uplift the next generation of Latino leaders with sessions on leadership, public service, policymaking, and storytelling that showcase the impact and inspiration of Latino leaders. After participating in the two-day conference in DC, several first year SIS grad students saw first-hand what can happen when a community of Hispanic and Latino leaders and future leaders come together. Being able to continue to develop that affinity space in their own school piqued students' interest in ALCE. Some first semester students even wanted to be part of the leadership board, including Erica Criollo, SIS/MA '25, and Roger Rolando Reyes, SIS/MA '25.

Reyes took on the role of director of operations, while Criollo is ALCE's director of communications. Both played an instrumental role in the busy first semester of activities for the club and in further defining the organization's goals.

"Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that we make our presence known. We also want to build a more resilient network among not only our Latino students, but all our students at AU," said Roger Reyes.

Reyes is especially passionate about networking and creating opportunities for Central Americans. In the fall 2023 semester, ALCE hosted several panel events, including Central Americans in Higher Education: Narratives of First-Generation Students in the Nation's Capital, featuring AU students in a panel discussion. Caribbean Americans in Higher Education took place on February 8, 2023, with student guest speakers from Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

ALCE has been crucial in helping students find community and build relationships at AU. In her role as director of communications, Erica Criollo is responsible for wider outreach to the community through social media channels and collaboration with other associations at AU. The organization helped Criollo find community after moving from New York, where she did her undergraduate degree.

"I really found my place here, and I am feeling happy and settled," Criollo said.

Pamela Hernandez, SIS/MA '24, who is studying US Foreign Policy and National Security, was one of about ten students who obtained free tickets to the CHCI conference through an informal partnership between CHCI and SIS. At the conference, Hernandez was able to network with other Latinos from different career fields, including both government and non-profit employees. Hernandez cites the CHCI Conference as an encouraging experience in contrast to the current political conversation around immigration in the United States.

Reflecting on her experience there, Hernandez said, "it was a very motivational moment to see all of my community there."

Next year, SIS Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, Rebecca Coughlin, hopes ALCE can act as a communication vehicle to help more SIS students learn about the opportunity to attend the CHCI's annual conference at no cost.

The organization is especially helpful for students new to AU. Lidia Llompart, SIS/MA '26, who began her graduate studies in spring 2024, knew there were Latinos in Washington, DC, but had no way to connect with them until orientation week, when "ALCE immediately welcomed me and I found that I was surrounded by not only Latinos but Miamians like me."

ALCE also provides a sense of community to international students who may be experiencing US university culture for the first time.

"While ALCE is, in part, a career-oriented organization, for me, it has been a great place to meet fellow Latinos and interesting people," said Ettore Fiorani Denegri, SIS/MIS '24. "I am going back to Peru to work, but nevertheless, I think ALCE has the potential to be important for Latino students at home and abroad."

ALCE provides community where students can have nuanced conversations about Latin American culture in the context of many opportunities to explore careers that may focus on Latin America in a whole range of ways in Washington, DC. According to Llompart, ALCE has made her "feel a little less homesick," and "that's something that will undoubtedly help me succeed at AU."

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