Elena Sweeney is a sophomore majoring in International Relations at James Madison College. She also serves as the vice president of Culturas de las Razas Unidas at MSU.
My journey with Culturas de las Razas Unidas, MSU’s largest Hispanic student organization, began long before I ever stepped on campus. It started 20 years ago when my mom, an eager graduate student, arrived in East Lansing to pursue her master’s degree. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, it was her first time being in Michigan — 2,000 miles away from her family. Puerto Rico still felt like home, but for her, home was an ocean away; she wished for a lifeline of a strong Hispanic community.
I grew up in Michigan, going to predominantly white schools my entire life. To many of the people I spoke with, Puerto Rico was a travel destination where they had spent a few days of their lives. To me, Puerto Rico was a lot more. My mom’s entire family lived in Puerto Rico and we spent the holidays living there every single year. I experienced many aspects of the island, from the historical city of Old San Juan, to the dense and lush mountains of Naranjito, and the dry desert in Poncé. I worked hard to become fluent in Spanish mainly so I could speak to my relatives, but also so I didn’t embarrass myself in restaurants. I also absolutely love Puerto Rican music and was so lucky to see reggaeton artist Bad Bunny perform in Detroit last April. I hope to see more people appreciate the beauty of Puerto Rico, but also recognize the many struggles the island faces and work proactively to fix them.
I wanted to find my community on campus to feel connected and to give back in any way I could. Thankfully, I found CRU. CRU is a student organization that serves as a cohesive voice of the Hispanic/Latine community on campus and builds community through providing programming and support to our students. I have met so many kind and welcoming students and faculty through CRU which has made me feel like I belong here on campus. Even beyond the Hispanic community, we are a member of the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students, which also includes the Native American and Indigenous Student Organization, the Black Student Alliance and the Asian Pacific American Student Organization. This spring, the CORES groups will move into the newly constructed Multicultural Center on campus where we will have the opportunity to host programming for our students on a larger scale.
Within CRU, I went from serving as an intern on the executive board, to representing our organization as a general assembly representative at Associated Students of Michigan State University, to stepping up to my current role as vice president. My first experience was being selected to attend the 2024 United States Hispanic Leadership Institute Conference in Chicago, fully funded. In the 10 months I have dedicated to CRU since then, our board of only 12 students has put on some of the largest and most successful programming events we have seen. Some high points include our 29th annual Dia de la Mujer conference held at the Kellogg Center, the Latinx Achievement Gala, our Bienvenida Bash this fall and our recent Dia de los Muertos celebration in collaboration with the University Activities Board with over 200 attendees.
Our work goes beyond programming. We are connected with the Chicano/Latino faculty and staff network on campus, engaged in supporting our many affiliate organizations and we are vocal about current events. We also frequently collaborate with other departments on campus like ASMSU, Counseling and Psychiatric Services and the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions (soon to be the Office of Multicultural Enrichment and Advocacy).
The behind-the-scenes work and dedication that goes into planning and operating these events is something that I never pictured myself being able to do, but our board and amazing community has driven us all to rise to the challenge. I recently completed the planning to fully fund 27 MSU students to attend the 2025 USHLI Conference in Chicago. In preparation, I created application questions to select attendees, determined our necessary expenses and presented our funding request to the Student Allocations Board at MSU. We were successfully granted $18,000 in funding and have since booked the hotel rooms, transportation to Chicago, and registered our 27 MSU students to attend! When I attended, the conference highlighted Puerto Ricans like the first female Hispanic surgeon general of the United States, Antonia Novello; one of the most decorated military veterans, Sgt. Jorge Otero-Barreto; and featured a performance of traditional Plena music from Puerto Rico. I was so grateful to put this together, in a full circle moment as the USHLI Conference last year served as my first step into CRU.
Recently, I had a long talk with my mom about CRU, and she told me how happy she is that we are building a strong Hispanic/Latine community here on campus. “To hear music that sounds like home, or have food that tasted like home,” she said, would have gone a long way for her. Her words reminded me of the importance of the work we do. Every hour spent planning our events, hosting programming and collaborations, and connecting with our community is a step towards building the inclusive community that my mom wished for years ago.
This story originally appeared on the James Madison College website.