Hispanic heritage month officially wrapped up with a tribute to student success in school with an honors night on Oct. 14 .

Honors night started at 6 p.m. in the recital hall on campus and it awarded Latinx students who received a 3.0-3.5 GPA. Latinx standing for gender inclusive, there were over 20 students who received awards for their hard work this semester and one of them was 18-year-old international relations major Kaleemah Muttaqi.

“I felt very proud of my ancestors who have thought we would be able to have this opportunity and I feel very excited to be the future and to give back to my community,” said Muttaqi.

There were several speakers throughout the night and Bryon Diaz, a student at Cosumnes River College, wrote a poem to honor the struggles that Latinx students face to get ahead. Speaker and California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Juan P. Garcia followed by speaking about his struggles.

“I think that at times there is a disconnect between the community and the institution and at some point when you really embrace that community and embrace the different diversities around the campus that makes everything even better,” said Garcia.

The first speaker was Oscar Mendoza, a student success and support program specialist, who has been working on Latinx the whole month with the Student Life and Leadership Center.

Following Mendoza, Dr. Edward Bush, CRC’s president, spoke about how students around campus should be proud to receive awards for their hard struggles and that the family members of those students should also be honored for their support and love that made this happen.

“They set aside this event for minorities that are underrepresented and they were able to represent them in the community,” said 18-year-old psychology major Alejandra Sepulveda.

Another speaker was Cathy Rodriguez, the president and CEO of sacramento’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She talked about how it felt to be part of the first generation of her family to graduate from a university and have a quality education. She mentioned how important it is for the Latinx community to not exclude other countries who fall under that term, and that every hispanic in America should support and lift each other up.

“As a minority I feel that we do not really have many opportunities where we are showcased,” said Muttaqi. “ So I felt very special and at home.”

The students who were honored were greeted on stage by several staff members of CRC, like Disability Support Program and Services coordinator Yolanda Garcia-Gomez. Another staff member who greeted students as they walked on stage and shook their hand was Spanish professor Blanca Gill.

“I think that at times a lot of the students go on and about their college experience but they do not really get to have that cultural aspect,” said Garcia. “And I feel that something like this really allows Latinos, Hispanics or non-Hispanic to really see that there are different perspectives and different ways to think about backgrounds that really make that culture experience even better.”