For many Hispanic and Latino students at Northern Kentucky University, Hispanic Heritage Month is spent educating others while also indulging in their own culture with relatives and friends. 

Brittney Cabrera, a second-year Criminal Justice student at NKU, is a proud Mexican-American woman and looks forward to celebrating her heritage every year.

“Hispanic Heritage Month is a time that we get to celebrate our culture, and we get to share our experiences with others who might not understand,” she says. “It means a time where we can come together as one big familia and support one another.”

Brittney is involved in numerous organizations that she feels are more like family: the Latino Mentor Program (LAMP), Delta Zeta Sorority and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Brittney serves as the president of LULAC's NKU chapter.

“LULAC is an organization dedicated to improving the rights and needs of Latino people. This civil rights organization really shows not only our Latino-identifying students but the Greater Cincinnati Latino citizens that there is an organization behind them supporting their needs and concerns,” she says. “I have always been involved in civil rights, and I always think that these basic human needs like proper housing, education and food is not a radical thing to ask when dealing with families with young children as well as our students here at NKU. This organization has helped me understand that no matter your walk of life, you will have someone in your corner fighting on your behalf.” 

Brittney has loved NKU since she arrived in 2019, and she especially loves the support the university gives its Hispanic and Latino studens in every aspect—from professors, staff and even students.

“NKU has given Hispanics/Latinos a place where they feel like their heritage is important,” she says. “Everyone is so supportive, and everyone wants to become more educated on issues that we are passionate about!”