DENVER — Wednesday night, the Tivoli building on the Auraria Campus was buzzing with excitement.
Metropolitan State University of Denver hosted the 28th annual Latinx Graduation Ceremony, a tradition honoring students ahead of formal commencement later this month.
“This is a cultural honor. This is a cultural celebration. This is a cultural privilege,” said Michael Benitez, MSU Denver’s Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion. “This night is special, it's important. We have to account for some of the history. We’re talking about institutions that generally didn’t think about students of color.”
MSU Denver says 36% of its undergraduate population is Latinx. And 49% of graduates this fall are students of color. The university is a federally recognized Hispanic-serving Institution, and has been honored for its service to Latinx students.
More than 400 Latinx students are graduating from MSU Denver in this fall semester, including Virginia Navarro. She’s a DACA recipient, the first in her family to graduate from college, and now one step closer to her dream career in health care as a physician’s assistant.
“The reason I wanted to be in the health care field was to be that representation that I didn’t really have, especially with having the health care provider speaking Spanish. Or even just understanding the background of being in a Hispanic community,” she explained.
“How can I provide patient care for my patient, but also be that representation? [Show patients] they are trusted, heard, no matter what their circumstances.”
Fellow December graduate, Lilian Nurena, is also pursuing a career in health care. She just finished her nursing degree.
“Growing up, I would go to doctors’ appointments with my mom, and I was asked to translate for her from English to Spanish from doctors and the medical staff,” she said. ”I noticed there was a language barrier there, and that inspired me to want to help others having a similar experience that my mom and I were having.”
During Wednesday night's ceremony, Nurena got special recognition honoring her demonstrated service to the Latinx community, and commitment to her education. While in nursing school, she lost her father to cancer and also had to navigate some difficult COVID-19-related delays.
“It was really hard, spending a lot of time in and out of hospitals, while also in school, and also doing hours in the hospital for school. It was a tough journey. But I somehow managed to make it through it and here I am today,” she said.
“I’m really grateful and I want to take a moment to soak up that proud moment.”
Both women have jobs lined up after graduation. MSU Denver's formal commencement is a week from Friday, Dec. 15th.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS