On Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m., Millikin faculty and students gathered with John Hill Magnet School students and their families in lower RTUC to continue Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.

Molly Berry opened the night with a welcome and introduced the crowd to Kristine Boomer, a former Millikin student.

Boomer is currently a teacher for the students participating in the bilingual program at Johns Hill Magnet School. Boomer introduced four children who came from their home countries to learn in America—Camila Hernandez, Ed Michael Santini Soto, Leonardo Sáenz and Yahir Emmanuel Ibarra Penalta. All presented about their home countries.

Hernandez presented first. She has been in the United States for four years and presented about her home country, Guatemala, in English. Her presentation included information about the landscape, wild life, flora, national symbols and even about the marimba, a commonly played instrument in Guatemala.

Then, Soto from Puerto Rico presented. He has been in the United States for about a year and presented in English as well. His presentation focused on Puerto Rico, similar to Hernandez’s presentation about Guatemala, which gave information about important symbols, sports, famous people, and about the flag.

When asked the question, “How do you like the U.S?” he said, “It’s very different; in Puerto Rico there’s no snow.”

He also stated when asked about his favorite part about Puerto Rico that the climate is his favorite and that his favorite sport is baseball.

Sáenz and Penalta did a tag team presentation about their home country of Mexico. The two have been in the United States for almost a year as well. Their presentation was in Spanish and included interesting information about famous places and events in Mexico.

The two were asked if the transition was hard and they said, “No, but it was very boring.” However, they were also asked if they were planning on staying in the U.S they both nodded and smiled.

After they all finished their presentations, Dr. Eduardo Cabrera, Professor of Spanish and chair of the department of modern languages and Carmen Aravena, Director of the Center of International Education here at Millikin were asked to the stage.

Cabrera spoke in Spanish about the Spanish department at Millikin and the opportunities speaking Spanish can offer you in the job market. Cabrera then opened the floor to Aravena who spoke in a combination of Spanish and English about study abroad opportunities at Millikin. Aravena mentioned whether a student wants to study abroad for a week, two weeks or a semester, it’s important that the student wants to go to the place he or she would enjoy learning at. This is why Millikin offers study abroad options to countries like England, China, Spain, Ireland, Chile, Italy, the Netherlands and many more.

At the end of the night, this event was the perfect time for all students to practice their Spanish, enjoy authentic Mexican food provided by Los Sauces Restaurant, dance and to have an overall good time.