UCI Giving Day 2024

The Latinx Resource Center (LRC) was founded in 2019 to raise awareness of social, political, economic, historical and cultural realities of the Chicanx/Latinx communities. We accomplish this mission by offering resources, programs, and a space where cultura, arte and academia are interconnected. Our vision is that these efforts will broaden access, increase retention and ensure a clear pathway to graduation through the empowerment of Chicanx and Latinx students. The LRC is open to all students who support this mission.

We invite you to learn more about our signature and recurring programs below. Your Giving Day gift to the Latinx Resource Center Programs fund will help us continue to produce these important and engaging programs that benefit our students and entire community.

SIGNATURE PROGRAMS

La Bienvenida | The Welcome: this event served as a welcome to all students, faculty, and staff at UCI by elevating and highlighting Latinx cultural expression. This event also provided opportunities for engagement through affiliated Latinx student-led organizations.

Latino Excellence & Achievement Dinner (LEAD): this collaboration with the Office of Inclusive Excellence was/is the only celebration and awards event in the University of California system focused on Latinx graduate student success. Currently, Latinos are 40.2% of the state population in California but are only 16.4% (2023) of the graduate student population at UCI. LEAD aimed to raise awareness of challenges experienced by the graduate community, increased visibility of success, and inspired the Latinx community to continue to advance in graduate and postdoctoral programs.

Dia de los Muertos| Day of the Dead: this was a program traditionally hosted by M.E.Ch.A. de UCI. In its absence the LRC sponsored and hosted the event. Dia de los Muertos is a holiday event that reunites the living and the dead, where the community welcomes back and honors those that have come before them.

La Despedida | The Goodbye: The Latinx communities’ end of the year celebration is co-hosted by the LRC-affiliated student organizations. Student organizations table for fundraising opportunities. Ballet Folklorico de UCI performed along with other musical performances.

Nuestra Graduación at UCI: “Nuestra Graduacion” is a registered student organization whose sole purpose is to coordinate and administer the namesake event. The LRC plays a large role in advising and assisting with managing the finances. This past year, Nuestra Graduación was a $57k+ event held at the Bren Events Center. Because of the scale, your financial support and involvement is vital to the success of the event.

RECURRING PROGRAMS

Cafecitos: these casual talks structured as a series brought together professors within the Latinx community for office hours in casual conversations with students. This program occurred in the AY21-22, was not administered for the AY 2022-23, but will be continued in the AY 2023-24 year because of the interest and impact it has on the psychosocial well-being of the students.

Meet Your Pueblo: a social set up to encourage students from different Latinx backgrounds to meet and get to know each other. It included a series of icebreakers and activities that had the students interact in engaging ways to foster a community.

Spanish Hour: this is a joint collaboration between the Center for Black Cultures, Resources, and Research (CBCRR), and the LRC. We came together to launch this pilot conversation program in Winter 2023. The Afro-Latinx student liaison between both centers, in collaboration with a DREAM Project Fellow student, developed a weekly plan of topics to touch on so as to practice their conversational skills. The aim was to give students a safe, supportive, and welcoming space to practice their Spanish language skills - no matter their fluency level.

Healthy Relationships Plática series: This series is a collaborative partnership between the UCI Counseling Center and the LRC. Our wellness intern, who had a strong passion for education on topics relating to mental health and emotional wellness, worked together with our QTPOC affairs intern. Together they facilitated conversational small group discussions three times per quarter with Dr. Dalton’s leadership and guidance.