Memphis Rise Academy welcomed students, families, and community members to its annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration on Sept. 28. The festival, which coincides each year with National Hispanic Heritage Month, was organized by Devonna Nickeo, 6th grade writing teacher and Network Diversity and Community Engagement Coordinator, and Denise Ayala, middle school ESL coordinator. Together, they brought their vision of Familias Unidas to life.
“I’m really proud of the Hispanic Heritage Festival!” Nickeo said. “This festival is the first big network event that we host each year and sets the tone for our commitment to celebrating the diversity of our Rise community and Memphis in general, which is why it’s so important to have.”
Students and families were surrounded by brightly colored decorations and the sound of music from the moment they entered the doors of Memphis Rise High School. Families volunteered to bring in some of their favorite Hispanic dishes, and students showed off their school projects featuring different people, places, and events from Hispanic culture. The festival also included arts and crafts, games, and movies. Of all the festivities, the highlight of the celebration was the student performers, who spent weeks rehearsing songs, dances, and poems to share with their community.
Jack Vuylsteke, executive director of Memphis Rise and high school principal, was especially impressed with the families’ support of the festival and the student performances.
“I really appreciated how many families brought food to share, and I was seriously very moved by several of the student performances,” Vuylsteke said. “This was the first year at Hispanic Heritage Festival that we had a performance portion of that nature, and I thought it was excellent.”
Students in attendance, including Keenan Smith, a freshman at Memphis Rise, looked forward to tasting the food and seeing all of the student projects. However, they also realized the significance of the event as a whole.
“It shows that we support not only whatever happens in America, but we support everything, like every other culture that might get discriminated against,” Smith said.
One of his classmates, freshman Jahir Martinez, agreed, saying the festival “shows that we accept any culture into our school.”
The Memphis Rise community looks forward to the Hispanic Heritage Festival each year, as it opens doors to families and community members while also celebrating the school’s diversity.
“I think that the Hispanic Heritage Festival is so important for our school,” said Middle School Principal Gus Connelly. “It’s one of the many opportunities we have throughout the year to celebrate the remarkable diversity within our community, and it’s a chance to learn from and celebrate with each other.”
Overall, students, families, staff, and volunteers all agreed that the Hispanic Heritage Celebration set a strong, positive tone for the year.
“As with every program or event, there were bumps along the way, but I think our team—which includes everyone from admin, to volunteers, to student performers—was able to create something that was a true reflection of Familias Unidas,” Nickeo said.
