AADC Recognizes National Hispanic Heritage Month 2024

The AADC proudly honors National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) celebrating the contributions made to American society and culture by Americans tracing their roots back to South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Spain.

 This year’s theme is Pioneer’s of Change: Shaping the Future Together, which “signifies the diversity inherent within the Hispanic and Latino communities, as well as strength that comes with unity.”

We remember and honor Hispanic and Latinx alumnae and friends who are part of our AADC community and communities across the nation and the world. We appreciate and value all that you do and what you continue to accomplish.

“Within the Latine community we have so many countries, cultures, and histories that it can be difficult to remember that in the U.S., we are all in this together,” says Cassandra Vega ‘24, Class President, pictured. “As a Puerto Rican and Dominican woman, I know the diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths.”

She received the AADC’s Margery Somers Foster Senior Service Award in recognition of her leadership and advocacy and was the class speaker for the 2024 Douglass Convocation as well as Rites of Passage, a graduation ceremony for Black and Latine Rutgers graduates. Racial and cultural identity has always been a pillar of her work, demonstrated by her role in co-founding the Rutgers Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community, her selection as a 2022 New Jersey Governor’s Hispanic Fellow, and most recently as the Policy Coordinator at the New Jersey Department of Labor where she worked at “the intersection of immigration and labor, helping the state’s Latine population.”

“This month honoring Latine people is such an important time because we get to come together and be unapologetic in our pride for one another’s accomplishments,” Cassie explains.

Her newest journey is the Fellows Program in Public Affairs at the New York City Coro Leadership Center as just one of nine selected for the prestigious, intensive nine-month program where the city “becomes the classroom for the next generation of aspiring change-makers” like Cassie.

“Diversity and inclusivity are the beating heart of the AADC,” says AADC President Lisa Dorio Ruch ’89. “My mother is from Puerto Rico, and we have family in San Juan, Ponce and Lajas today, so this is a particularly meaningful time. The AADC celebrates The AADC community welcomes everyone every day,” she continued.

Get involved with the AADC Latina Alumnae Network (LAN), which supports and fosters a community among Douglass Latina alums. Please contact Lorrie Delaney ’18 at the AADC at ldelaney@douglassalumnae.org.