People in the News

2024 Emory 100 Senior Honorary, América Moreno Ruiz

Every year, the Emory Alumni Board and the Student Alumni Board collaborate to honor exceptional students and recognize emerging leaders among the graduating senior class, naming them the 100 Senior Honorary.

These seniors embody a diverse spectrum of roles on campus: leaders, catalysts for thought, spirited athletes, academic mentors, and community influencers. Their dedication to their passions and endeavors has left an indelible mark on the Emory community, and each is committed to extending their impact to alumni communities worldwide.

Among last year's 100 Senior Honorary is one LACS major: América Moreno Ruiz.

LACS Student of the Year, Sofía Abarca

Sofía Abarca, the 2025 LACS Student of the Year, is a senior double-majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL) and Latin American & Caribbean Studies. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, she moved to Mexico City at the age of 13. Paired with her PPL major, this perspective has allowed her to critically engage with the region’s culture and society. Her academic journey culminates in an honors dissertation exploring perspectives on human nature through the lens of Latin American philosophy. After graduation, Sofía plans to pursue a Master’s in Teaching to become a fully credentialed educator and continue uplifting Latin American culture and heritage. Sofía is pictured here on her first day serving as a substitute teacher for 7th grade History.

2024 Mellon Mays Spring Research Conference

The MMUF Spring Research Conference serves as a platform for senior fellows to showcase the culmination of their intensive two-year endeavors. This event holds immense significance for the students, and your support was greatly appreciated. Presentations delved into a variety of themes. América Moreno Ruiz unveiled her project: "The Rise and Effects of an Internal Ethical Dilemma of an Undocumented Immigrant" and Arturo Contreras presented his project: "Preserving Institutional Memory of the Emory Latinx Community through Archival Research and Oral Histories”. Congratulations to América and Arturo for their hard work and dedication on these incredible projects!

Conference Flyer

Double Major Leida Cisneros

2021 LACS and Business double major Leida Cisneros is now a business consultant for Deloitte and the 'dreamer' has had her extraordinary story of walking from El Salvador to North Carolina as a seven-year-old memorialized by artist Rosalia Torres-Weiner and displayed by Wilmington's Cameron Art Museum.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with an Emory Libraries pop-up exhibit

Arturo Contreras, a fourth-year student majoring in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, curated the exhibit “Consciousness Is Power: A Record of Emory Latinx History” on display at the Robert W. Woodruff Library in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month.

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Barbados Transition

LACS Director Robert Goddard has been asked for perspectives regarding his homeland Barbados' recent decision to end its political allegiance to the British monarch and to become a republic.

Why does Barbados’ symbolic transition to a republic matter - LSE blog

Interviewed by BBC Espanol about moves to republic in Caribbean