Carolin Rusell Dezala
Contributing Writer
Dancing for the empowerment of the students, the ESU chapter of MANA, A National Latina Organization, held its first annual Zumba fundraiser in collaboration with the Latin Scholarship Fund, Inc., this past Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Zimbar Hall Gym.
In collaboration with the Latin Scholarship Fund, Inc., MANA occupied the Zimbar Hall Gymnasium filled with music and joy for the students and the Monroe County community.
The entry for the event was $5 for ESU students with a current eCard and $10 for members of the community. Students were automatically placed in a raffle for the $500 scholarship for the upcoming fall 2024 semester.
Instructors from the Latin Scholarship Fund were energetic and enthusiastic while providing the community with a fun time and opportunity for ESU Students. The LSF also provided their raffles for the community where for $10, they were able to get tickets as long as the length of their arms. There was a photo booth and a concession stand to buy MANA and LSF merch and other goodies.
“I think it is a nice way to promote the culture and it shows that MANA as an organization on campus wants to promote leadership and diversity while providing a great opportunity to the students and the community,” said Lyesha “Ly” Fleming, Director of the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusive Excellence (CMAIE), who attended the event in support of MANA as the CMAIE oversees all of the multicultural organizations on campus.
“The Latin Scholarship Fund, Inc. approached us with this opportunity for the ESU Community and we could not take it up faster,” Richermy Batista, president of the ESU Chapter of MANA stated. “It is just amazing to see people come together and dance. Zumba, and dancing as a whole, is something that transcends culture, race or ethnicity so it is incredible to see a whole community together, and also who wouldn’t want free money?”
The winner of the scholarship was ESU student, Shavonne McLamb. McLamb is majoring in English with a concentration in professional and digital media writing. She is looking forward to starting the master’s program at ESU in the fall.
Aside from the $500 donation, the Latin Scholarship Fund, Inc. also anonymously donated $1000 for MANA to start their scholarship and continue the program in the fall.
MANA de East Stroudsburg University was reestablished on campus this past Spring 2023 under the leadership of Batista with Kailany Hernandez as the vice president, Angie Ovalle as the secretary, Leolis Rodriguez Perez as the treasurer and Sierra DiCupe as the community outreach chair with support of their staff advisor, Aida Garcia-Cole.
Since their reestablishment, MANA has accomplished successful donation drives such as clothing and food to the local East Stroudsburg food pantry and St. Matthews Church, they have held workshops for financial understanding, career development and self-care. They have collaborated with other organizations on campus such as the Latin American Association to provide salsa classes and they continue to advocate for the advancement of the Latino and ESU community as a whole.
