For graduating Elon senior Cristy Mariné, her time at college is like her mom’s arepas, a South American flatbread made from ground maize and stuffed with a filling, which she said are simple but unforgettable.
“The recipe seems straightforward,” Mariné said addressing graduating Hispanic and Latinx students, faculty, staff, families and friends during ¡Celebremos!: Graduates Take Flight on May 22. “You apply, you attend classes, study and graduate, but what you choose to fill these four years with truly gives them meaning, and each of us felt our college experience differently.”
Graduating student Cristy Mariné delivers the Charge to Students on May 22 at Lakeside Meeting Rooms
According to assistant director of the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity MJ Larrazabal, ¡Celebremos! is an opportunity to not only celebrate the graduating students but to also celebrate those who have helped them on their journey.
“This meaningful event uplifts the rich diversity, resilience and the impact of Latinx Hispanic students as they prepare to take flight beyond Elon,” Larrazabal said during the ceremony, “¡Celebremos! also recognizes and expresses gratitude for the families, friends and communities, the village, who have supported our graduates throughout their journey.”
During ¡Celebremos!, 18 graduating Hispanic and Latinx students were celebrated for their accomplishments throughout their four years at Elon University and honored with a stole decorated with a monarch butterfly. The stole was decorated by Elon alum Nico Gaspar ‘22.
The ceremony consisted of each graduate receiving their stole from director of the Center for Race Ethnicity and Diversity, Sylvia Muñoz, and a gift from El Centro, Alumni Engagement and university President Connie Ledoux Book. As each graduate received their stole, professor of journalism Israel Balderas, professor of human service studies Tony Reyes, and director of undergraduate admissions for diversity and access Kimberly Romero read messages written by the graduates for their families, friends and communities. These messages were read either in English, Spanish or Spanglish, a language that conversationally combines Spanish and English.
Graduating Elon senior Jose Alex Reyes Arias said in an interview with Elon News Network that he enjoyed having a smaller ceremony with his classmates that he has spent the past four years with.
“It was really nostalgic, a very simple moment,” Reyes Arias said. “Just having to celebrate our big accomplishments today.”
During her speech, Mariné also reflected on feeling more comfortable in her identity as a Venezuelan immigrant at Elon University.
“When I first arrived on campus, I wasn't sure how much of myself I was allowed to bring,” Mariné said. “I questioned whether my voice belongs in the classroom, whether my background would be understood or whether people would understand me when I switched languages mid sentence. For so long, many of us have been able to take up less space to make ourselves easier to digest. But as time went by, I realized that trying to assimilate was exhausting. The moment I stopped asking for permission to be proud of where I came from, things began to shift.”
Mariné said that as she started to become more proud of her identity, the more rich her college experience became.
“I let my culture be loud,” Mariné said during the ceremony. “I surrounded myself with people who saw me fully. I stopped translating parts of myself to make others uncomfortable, and I let my story take up space, because, like my mom’s arepas, our identities are not complete without what we carry inside, and that richness deserves to take up space.”
Anjolina Fantaroni contributed to the reporting of this story.