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Educación / Education

STCC celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | August 13, 2021 – Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with planned events, including the kickoff of the college’s popular Heart of a Man virtual series. The first of the fall Heart of a Man series is scheduled on Oct. 14, with a Zoom Webinar titled Con Todo Corazón: Perspectives on Healthy Masculinity. Heart of a Man is a virtual series engaging men in dialogue on topics of identity, gender stereotypes, interpersonal violence, race, politics and social justice. Each event features a panel of men from diverse backgrounds, professions and experiences who will share their stories and engage in dialogue with participants. Open to students and the public, the series is an opportunity to hear community leaders and campus members share their stories about how men engage from the heart in creating healthy relationships, healthy communities, and platforms for social change. “The series was created to engage men in very important conversations that impact communities of color as well as provide a space to connect students who are men with leaders in our community,” said Vonetta Lightfoot, Multicultural Affairs operation manager, and one of the series’ creators. Cynthia Breunig, Violence Prevention Coordinator at STCC and a co-creator of the series, said the first event for the fall will focus on Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15-Oct. 15. “We’re thrilled to bring back the Heart of a Man series this fall,” Breunig said. “The series is relevant to what’s happening in our community and across the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Each segment generates engaging and thoughtful discussion.” STCC, a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution, serves a diverse population of students, including about 30 percent of whom identify as Hispanic. Vice President of Student Affairs Darcey Kemp said the college is planning other events to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The events will be announced around the beginning of the fall semester on Sept. 7.

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Springfield Technical Community College, the Commonwealth’s only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC’s highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequalled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts.

Marisol Ramos joins the University of California Santa Barbara Library

SANTA BARBARA, CA | UC SANTA BARBARA –LIBRARY | August 9, 2021- Marisol Ramos joined the UCSB Library last year as the subject librarian for Latin American and Iberian Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, and Chicana/o Studies. She made the move to the West Coast from the University of Connecticut, where she served for 13 years as the librarian for Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies, Spanish, Anthropology, and Sociology, and curated their Latina/o, Latin American & Caribbean Collections. Ramos became fascinated by history while growing up in Puerto Rico, where she earned her BA in Anthropology from the University of Puerto Rico. She was particularly interested in the question of irrigation for the island nation and the importance of water for civilizations, so she applied for graduate school at SUNY Albany, where she earned her MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in 1997. While in Los Angeles trying to figure out what type of job she would pursue, she considered becoming a librarian and applied to UCLA in 1999, where she graduated with her MLIS, though ended up working initially as an archivist. “I was looking for a job, but what I encountered was a career,” she said. Fluent in both Spanish and English, she started working at the Los Angeles Public Library, specializing in Marine Sciences. After experiencing the large Mexican and Hispanophone community in LA, she applied to attend the Guadalajara Book Fair, one of the largest in Latin America. Ramos says that all of her experiences and degrees have honed her skills as a Latin American specialist. Coming to UCSB, Ramos is interested in connecting primary sources to the classroom, putting more small presses for Indigenous groups into the spotlight, and adding more primary sources to the Library collections. Ramos’s work is not limited to the past but is also centered on current geopolitical events. Starting while she was at the University of Connecticut and in collaboration with the University of Maryland, Ramos worked with the Ricky Renuncia Project, which seeks to document the July 2019 protests calling for the resignation of Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló through Tweets, photographs, and videos. Her hope is that this project can serve as a model others can use to document movements that play out on social media. Ramos is also pursuing a number of projects outside of her work at the Library. She is the lead editor of a book about Puerto Rican anthropology, which began in 2016 but was delayed due to Hurricane Maria, earthquakes on the island, and the pandemic-induced financial crisis. When released, she wants this project to be in English and challenge common outsider perceptions of Puerto Rico. Ramos is also pursuing her doctorate and hopes to complete her dissertation this year. “My experience as a student and as a scholar helps to make me a better librarian and archivist,” she said. Outside of her research, Ramos loves to relax with manga, science fiction, and Afro-futurism literature. She also loves spending time at the beach, hiking, cooking, and being outdoors. After spending her first year at UCSB online, she’s most excited to meet the community face-to-face. On COVID, Ramos said, “It’s really hard to connect with people when you’re in Zoom. It’s just not the same as eating together, drinking together, laughing… I’m finally going to be able to meet faculty, students, colleagues, and get into the life and rhythm of being on campus.”

MARISOL RAMOS

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