Motivational speaker and U.S. Railroad Retirement Board representative Ruthie Maldonado delivered an inspirational message to students and faculty, 7:30 Tuesday night in the Student Center Forum room.
Maldonado, a Chicago native and resident, drew upon her personal experiences, and chiefly her parents experiences, to teach about Latino cultures, issues, challenges and triumphs.
After an introduction by Latino Student Union treasurer Edna Gonzalez, Maldonado gave the diverse audience a taste of her native Puerto Rican parents' hard-earned wisdom while weaving in a description of her own upbringing in a predominately Mexican-American Chicago neighborhood.
"I used to get teased for my curly hair and my other Puerto Rican looks to the point where I denied my heritage," Maldonado said. "When I got older, I got so proud of my heritage. It was Puerto Rican everything. I had Puerto Rican flags and music everywhere to show my pride."
Maldonado used the example of interracial bias and examples of prejudice on the part of Caucasian-Americans, to show that unity must be universal among Latinos and other races.
"The similarities between the various Latino groups, as well as the African-American community, cannot be ignored," Maldonado said. "The emphasis on the family and the belief in God are such essential parts of both communities."
Citing U.S. census figures, Maldonado painted a picture of the size of the Latino community in America. According to Maldonado, Latinos, which are the youngest, and now largest, American minority group, make up 35.2 million of the total 281 million U.S. population. While giving due recognition to a 58 percent increase since the 1990 census, Maldonado strongly stressed that numbers were only numbers if action is not taken to make positive change.
Maldonado often became emotional when speaking of her father, who she refers to affectionately as "papi," and her late mother. She accredited her parents with raising five children and being patient, grateful and hard-working people who, as she said, "are worth two Ph. D's in life" despite their lack of formal education.
"It was so interesting learning about her family and what she believes is important. She was very inspirational to me," freshman Alyssa Rossomme said.
At the conclusion of her moving oration, Maldonado reiterated her bottom line for the young people in the room. With an emphasis on the young Latinos in the room, she called for an understanding that education, community involvement and doing one's absolute best at everything are the keys to successful and fulfilling lives.
"The key to success really is education," Jose Torres, LSU vice president, said. "I agree completely."
Maldonado said that she felt "everyone was very attentive and seemed to take something personal home from my words."
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