Honoring Culture. Celebrating Legacy. Uplifting Voices.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) proudly celebrates Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month 2025 from September 15 to October 15, a national observance honoring the vibrant histories, rich cultures, and vital contributions of communities with roots in Latin America and Spain.
This month, we reflect on and appreciate the diversity of Hispanic and Latinx experiences. At WPI, we highlight the narratives and accomplishments that continue to shape innovation, community, politics, art, and science.
Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month offers a chance to consider how history, identity, and resiliency intersect. The experiences of Hispanic and Latinx people are multifaceted and varied, ranging from Indigenous customs to current campaigns for justice and equity. By listening to these stories, we pay tribute to both the past and the current initiatives that are forming a more inventive and inclusive future.
Our university's academic and social fabric is enhanced by the Hispanic and Latinx faculty, staff, and students who provide insightful approaches to engineering, science, technology, and the arts. This month serves as a reminder that multicultural communities foster innovation, increase scientific understanding, and build more inclusive campuses.
Why September 15 to October 15?
The celebration begins mid-September to honor the Latin American countries who declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821:
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
The month-long observance began as a week in 1968 (thanks to CA Rep. George E. Brown) and was officially expanded in 1989 by President George H. W. Bush.
“We must preserve our culture and celebrate our differences, for in diversity lies strength and creativity.”
— Ellen Ochoa, astronaut and first Hispanic woman in space
STEM Scholar Spotlights
We honor trailblazing Hispanic and Latinx individuals in science and technology:
- Pedro Alonso – Spanish physician and epidemiologist, former Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.
- Severo Ochoa – Spanish-American biochemist, Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine (1959) for his work on RNA synthesis.
- Antonia Novello – First woman and first Hispanic U.S. Surgeon General; physician and public health leader.
- Luis Alvarez – Nobel Prize-winning physicist and inventor.
- France Córdova – Astrophysicist and first Latina NASA Center Director
- Ellen Ochoa – First Hispanic woman in space, engineer and former Johnson Space Center director
- Mario Molina – Chemist and Nobel Laureate for his work on the ozone layer
Explore, Read, Watch, Listen
- Explore National Hispanic Heritage Month online
- Listen to the Latinos Out Loud Podcast
- Watch “La Misma Luna” (2007, Mexican American Drama)
- Listen to Yo Más Te Adoro by Morat
- Explore PBS Hispanic Heritage Month Documentary collection
- Explore the New Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Latino
- Read Our Voices, Our Images: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month by the Inter-American Development Bank
- Read “National Hispanic Heritage Month Q&A” written by Insight Staff, Insight into Diversity
- Read The U.S. Hispanic Manifesto by The Hispanic Star
- Explore Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month through WGBH and WORLD Channel
- Watch Hispanic Heritage Month Movies
- Watch The Latino List: Volume 1 and 2 online via Gordon Library, directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
- Watch Retablo online via TubiTV, directed by Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio, written by Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio and Hector Galvez, produced by Enid Campos, Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio, Lasse Scharpen, and Menno Döring, (Lima, Peru: Siri Producciones, Catch of the Day Films, DHF, 2017), 95 minutes
- Listen to the Level Up Latina Podcast
- Listen to the Latinx On The Rise Podcast
- Listen to the Alt Latino Podcast
Take Action
- Support the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
- Support the TransLatin@ Coalition
- Register to Vote -OR- Check Your Voter Registration
- Everything you need to vote. Vote.org
- Become a Poll Worker
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The Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Education (ODIME) promotes and oversees student-facing learning experiences, programs, services, trainings, and initiatives for WPI.
