The second event in this year’s Story Space series celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. It allowed Hispanic voices to tell their stories and share their culture and heritage with Stockton’s family. Non-Hispanic voices also participated, sharing their experiences with the culture, like going to a Latin American country on vacation or celebrating a holiday with a Hispanic family member or friend.

With the collaboration between Student Development and Los Latinos Unidos (LLU), new guests showed up at the Multicultural Center to listen or participate. Many of the participants from the last Story Space, “Summer Memories”, returned to speak or listen to other students. As always, Parth Thakkar himself started off the event by setting an example for newcomers about stories they could share if they wished to participate. He told a story about a beautiful cruise he and his family took to the island of Cozumel, Mexico, describing the beautiful views and delicious Mexican food, and a tour of the Mayan ruins on the island.

Another student had also taken a cruise to Cozumel with her family. She also enjoyed the experience. She reiterated loving the food and entertainment offered during the trip. She and her family did a lot of activities, like snorkeling, boat riding, and even swimming with dolphins. Khrystyna Svystovych, a Ukrainian international student who had also participated in the previous Story Space, told the audience about the many Mexican restaurants populating her area in Ohio when she was attending high school as an exchange student.

Juan Diego Chaparro, president of Los Latinos Unidos, shared a captivating story about his life in Venezuela. He talked about the oppression the citizens of Venezuela constantly suffer from their corrupt government, and how his childhood was spent thinking about political tension rather than really enjoying Venezuela’s beauty and nature. In his hometown, a national park called “Chorro El Indio” (Indigenous Stream) was located near his house, containing a beautiful cascade. The ongoing stream would run just a few meters from where he lived, but because of the unsafe circumstances, Chaparro never saw that stream even though he lived there for fourteen years. He reflected on how much he missed Venezuela, despite the political tension, and how he was only able to appreciate his country’s beauty superficially rather than completely enjoying it. Chaparro closed off his story with, “When I think about Venezuela, I remember that little stream.”

Another participant from Perú related very much to Chaparro’s story, also having lived in a country heavily affected by heavy governmental oppression and corruption. His childhood was also spent under political tension and worries about the impact on their family. Both participants expressed a deep, touching love for their countries and pride in their heritage, hoping to revisit their homes again. The audience appreciated their willingness to open up and show this vulnerable side of their lives.

In response to working with Thakkar, Chaparro commented, “I think that Parth Thakkar is the most wonderful Coordinator of Student Life Programming that we could have at Stockton. He has a way to empathize with students… and by putting up this Story Space that constantly keeps evolving, [it has] become more than a safe space. It’s something beyond that. It’s something that makes people fully break down into who they are, into themselves, and there’s this connection that everyone is able to make. If there’s a word that Story Space makes me feel, it’s ‘fulfilled.’”