Riverland Multicultural Club empowering Austin’s international community By Savannah Howe Through the Multicultural Club, Riverland Community College’s global students are connecting with each other and their communities. As Jesus Aquino explains, the Club has two missions: helping people, and bringing them together. During his tenure as Club President, he is looking to do both. “When I met [the Club adviser], he told me about the program, and I loved the idea,” Aquino said. “I like to help others, and with this, I have the options to do that.” Aquino moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico to play baseball, and does so for Riverland. He says he’s gotten other international baseball players involved with Riverland Multicultural Club (RMC) too, helping them branch out from just practice and classes. “I try to involve them in what’s going on here,” Aquino said. The RMC is focused on community service, and often donates their time to various causes. For example, on the last Friday of each month, they partner with Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES), a by-and-for-Latinos nonprofit organization, to hand out food donations in the Terp Ballroom. This, Aquino said, is one example of how the club benefits both its members and their neighbors. For him personally, his mom back in Puerto Rico gets to see him posted on RMC’s social media — and she appreciates any chance to see her son. RMC VP Guadalupe Perez added that RMC members often get to take home leftover donations — a huge help for college students.
70 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2022
Multicultural Club President Jesus Aquino stocks cans at the CLUES food donation event on Friday Jan. 28. Savannah Howe/newsroom@austindailyherald.com
“When I met [the Club adviser] he told me about the program, and I loved the idea. I like to help others, and with this, I have the options to do that.” Jesus Aquino Riverland Community College Multicultural Club
The biggest benefit from a Club like this is diversifying the college’s and Austin’s definition of community, Aquino and Perez agreed. Janelle Calvlo with CLUES added that the Club’s volunteers are an essential factor in connecting organizations like CLUES with people who need their services, as manpower is often the biggest struggle and most precious commodity. “We invite people from all cultures, races and ethnicities to sign up and come and get together and share from their culture,” Perez added. “We get to know new people. For example, I got to meet the person in charge of CLUES, and I want to be a social worker so that’s helpful because when I’m ready for internship I can go and apply with them.” Immigrants often don’t know where to go for things like vaccine clinics, which is where RMC steps in to help, at times volunteering at the clinics as well. The members also frequently volunteer to teach international community members valuable skills like paying utility bills. The Club has been only meeting online since the pandemic, but in normal times, meeting in-person means sharing food and games from their diverse cultures. RMC also celebrates many cultural holidays, such as Dia de Los Muertos. Aquino graduates in May, but before he leaves he hopes to see the club’s face-to-face festivities recommence, and wants to get more people involved in the program. “We just want to continue helping people in the community and enjoying ourselves while we do it,” Aquino said. P
