Mi Gente, Germantown Academy’s LatinX Culture Club, led the LatinX Heritage celebration during community time and flex on October 20. The community time was dedicated to recognizing LatinX members inside and outside the GA community, while also educating students and faculty about Hispanic Heritage Month.
While students learned about accomplished people of LatinX heritage who remained confident in expressing their LatinX identities throughout their careers, they were able to decorate sugar skull bookmarks in honor of the upcoming Day of the Dead on November 1 and November 2. After the community time activities, students headed out to the MS Green to enjoy the LatinX music and treats, like tamales and various candies.
Ms. Alicia Evans, Upper School English Teacher and Faculty Leader of Mi Gente, said, “[Organizing this event] was definitely a group effort. The students and I worked together to develop the video and PowerPoint. We also set up decorations and music all around the middle school green. Mr. Leon helped out by getting tamales for everyone to enjoy! It could not have been done without the help of our school community.”
Explaining the significance behind the celebration and motives of the Mi Gente club members, Ms. Evans said, “I think what is interesting about affinity groups is that they allow us to grow with our identity and not feel like it has to fade away as we get older, so it’s nice to create that space. We also wanted it to be a celebration that reminded everyone that diversity is an amazing aspect within our GA students and faculty.”
Lastly, Ms. Evans described her takeaways from this special celebration and her hopes for the future of cultural celebrations at GA. She said, “It really was a lot of fun, and I hope we can do something like this again. I’m really happy that everyone has been so pleased with the celebration, and the feedback we’ve received is super positive. Following the celebration, I’ve truly discovered the resilience of my Mi Gente kids. We put all of this together in just two-three weeks.”
The hard work of both the student and faculty leaders of Mi Gente turned the celebration into a huge success among students and faculty. The event was certainly memorable and generated a more than positive response from the community. It also effectively displayed LatinX heritage and accomplishments. As the year continues, the Germantown Academy community will likely see much more of the Mi Gente’s excellent planning and execution in other activities.