DAVENPORT, Iowa — St. Ambrose University held a Cultural Stole Donning Ceremony on Sunday, May 7 at the Rogalski Center to honor the achievements of its 34 graduating minority students.
"I'm a first generation student, so this is a big deal for me," Yasmeen Perez told News 8's Collin Riviello. "Receiving a cultural stole gives me a sense of pride in my culture and my heritage, so yeah, I'm just ready to rock my stole during graduation," Perez said.
There were four stoles available representing student achievements from those coming from Asian American and Pacific Islander, Latin-X, African American and Native American and Indigenous backgrounds.
"This allows them the opportunity to really celebrate their uniqueness and honor their cultural heritage, honor their ancestors and everyone that played a role in getting them to this point," St. Ambrose University Student Equity and Diversity Inclusion Coordinator Fritz Dieudonné said.
20 of the 34 eligible students received their stole on Sunday at the ceremony. The remaining 14 will get theirs at a later date.
But one of those 20 who got theirs was Perez, a Mexican American.
She started her college journey in 2019, just getting used to the schedule of college life before the pandemic forced her online.
"It was pretty difficult for me, since I am a hands on learner," Perez said.
Then when in-person learning returned, she had to once again, get used to a learning environment where most of the time her peers in the classroom didn't look like her.
"I would say when I first came here, there was probably one [other Mexican-American student, and] not until my second year of college," Perez said "[And] it happened to be my RA and I was like, "Yes, finally somebody like me!"
Her parents, live in a Chicago suburb three hours away, and they say she would call them frequently, updating them about her day.
"She's grown a lot," Yazmeen's mother Carmen Perez said. "The person that she is now is totally different from the little girl that we dropped off here for her freshman year. She's really grown into it."
Yazmeen is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish with minors in Leadership and Marketing. After graduation, she says she will become an Admissions Counselor at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.