By Allison Lantz | Contributer

The stories and successes of past Baylor graduates who come from Hispanic backgrounds in the Waco community will be featured Thursday in the Hispanic Heritage Month Young Leaders Panel, via Zoom call.

While Baylor hosts many celebratory events throughout the year on a variety of occasions, this panel specifically will be the first of its kind. Hector Sabido, Waco City Councilman, said that that the event had special meaning for him.

“As a Baylor graduate, I have never seen an event like this and the fact that the university wants to do something like this is so encouraging to me, and I hope it is to others as well,” Sabido said.

This event extends the opportunity to hear about the Hispanic community in Waco and the varying aspects of diversity that they bring to the table.

“This event is so important because we are able to celebrate the Hispanic culture while also showing some insight to the contributions we make as a community,” Sabido said.

Baylor hopes that this panel will show Hispanics’ reality and inspire young people who are looking for guidance and direction.

The panel includes Sabido of the Waco City Council, Benjamin Gomez from Waco Young Professional Group, Amanda Nowlin representing Baylor University, Catelia Vazquez of Transformation Waco and Joshua Rizzo from We Grow the Co.

“With this event, we just want to show truth and share our raw life experiences,” Amanda Nowlin, assistant to the associate dean of engaged learning, said. “We want to help students who want to get involved and assist them in sharing their diversity.”