Carmen Alvarez-Breckenridge
Carmen Alvarez-Breckenridge is the coordinator of Hispanic Student Services in the Multicultural Center at the Ohio State University. She supports the mission of the multicultural center which is to
"provide intellectual and cultural enrichment, programs & services, and facilities; and to create a community environment that recognizes cultural differences, respects cultural uniqueness, and facilitates cross-cultural interaction, learning and appreciation".
She does this by providing a sort of home away from home for the students she comes in contact with. One of the ways she accomplishes this is by creating an inviting atmosphere for the people that come to her office. Her walls are covered with posters advertising Hispanic Awareness week and month and there are various trees and plants from a variety of Latin American countries. Also, she has cozy seats so that she can sit and have meaningful conversations with the people that she works with. Carmen is also active in answering questions of ethnic identity that people might have and finding ways to fill cultural voids in people's lives. She also works closely with minority services and the ALIANSA Institute, which builds leadership among Latino/a students. Also, she works on collaborative efforts with Alpha Psi Lambda fraternity to put on "Unas Palabritas" and a 1st year initiative "Who are you?" program.
Carmen's position helps to promote the Latino/a Studies program at the Ohio State University and support its efforts in gaining Latino/a numbers at the university. She and her colleagues helped to organize the Latin American Studies Conference at Ohio State and helped to set standards for the subject. Carmen was a fantastic help to understanding the many facets to this detailed subject of studying Latino/a Studies programs of other universities and was a great support to our cause.