HOLA Club builds cultural connections and a sense of belonging

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — For students in Penn State Lehigh Valley’s HOLA Club, celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month is about sharing culture, building connections and helping classmates feel that they have a place at Penn State.

Through campus events and opportunities to connect with the broader community, students are creating spaces where Hispanic and Latino identities are celebrated and people from different backgrounds can learn from one another. Their experiences highlight the role student organizations play in supporting student success through involvement, leadership and belonging.

The campus activities are part of Penn State’s broader celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, with cultural and educational programming across the University honoring Hispanic and Latino communities and encouraging connection.

“What motivates me most is the knowledge that our events create a space where a student can walk in and instantly feel welcomed, valued, and seen,” said HOLA member Astrid Gonzalez. “Beyond that, there is an incredible energy and overall excitement that comes with sharing my culture with peers who appreciate and want to learn about it just as much as we do.”

HOLA celebrates the community, culture and connections of Hispanic and Latino students at Penn State, according to club adviser Aracelys Lopez, student success and dual enrollment coordinator. Its invitation to participate extends across the campus.

Lopez recalled a student asking what the letters in HOLA stand for.

“I said they stand for 'Hello! You are welcome to join us and celebrate your culture and connect with our community at Penn State Lehigh Valley,'” she said.

That welcoming approach gives students opportunities to share their own experiences while learning about the histories, traditions and perspectives of others.

For Julia Lopez, HOLA Club president, Hispanic Heritage Month provides both recognition and an opportunity for education.

“It helps us know we have a place at Penn State,” she said. “Another reason why it’s so important is because it helps other people learn about Hispanic and Latino culture and history, helping them become more well-rounded individuals.”

The club’s fall programming included a Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff with games, crafts and snacks; a Carnaval celebration; and Lotería, a traditional Mexican game of chance.

As president, Julia Lopez described Hispanic Heritage Month as the club’s busiest and most engaged time of year. One highlight was the Sept. 30 Carnaval celebration, which featured food, face painting, a photo booth and music.

“We had a great turnout and lots of positive feedback,” she said.

Gonzalez also identified the Carnaval Fiesta as a particularly meaningful experience. For her, its success came from bringing students together and encouraging them to participate.

“It was truly amazing to see so many students from campus join us, step out of their comfort zones, and genuinely enjoy themselves,” Gonzalez said.

She described the club’s events as a shared space where culture becomes a bridge, allowing students from different backgrounds to celebrate and learn alongside one another.

The connections students described also extended beyond campus. Elizabeth Sierra, a student and small business owner who moved across the country to pursue her education, attended the first annual Hispanic Heritage Month Leadership Luncheon on Sept. 15 at Musikfest Café in Bethlehem. She said the experience offered motivation and a sense of community as someone new to the area.

“The Hispanic community does not only help me feel included, it helps me feel at home,” Sierra said.

For Sierra, meeting people with shared experiences and professional ambitions reinforced her pride in her heritage and appreciation for the opportunities her parents helped make possible.

Her experience illustrates how cultural programming can connect students with the communities in which they live, study and work. Those connections reflect an important role of Commonwealth Campuses as local access points to a Penn State education and places where students can build relationships with the surrounding community.

Student clubs contribute to that role by responding to students’ interests and experiences, creating opportunities for cultural exchange and helping members find connections both on and beyond campus.

For Aracelys Lopez belonging is central to that work.

“Feeling that you belong and matter in such a large institution as Penn State is important to students’ academic success,” she said. “It’s a tethering link that allows students to soar academically.”

Student organizations such as HOLA give students opportunities to help create that sense of belonging themselves. By planning events, inviting classmates to participate and sharing their cultures, students practice leadership while responding to their campus community’s need for connection.

“To me, student success is one-part academics, one part community and belonging, and one part connecting to the working world,” Aracelys Lopez said.