Despite being American born Dr. Victor Villanueva is proud of his heritage.

Villanueva, an English professor at Washington State University, was the speaker to kick off Hispanic Heritage month.

Born in Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican parents. Villanueva said that he is about as American as they come and he will tell you that with his strong Brooklyn accent.

Before he was an English Professor at Washington State University and an author, he served in Vietnam.

Villanueva kept the atmosphere fun and humorous throughout the night despite discussing the serious topic of racism toward not just Latinos but other races as well.

“We Latino’s are not a race we’re indigenous, we’re European. Six Latin American presidents have been of Arab origin. The president of Peru was of Asian ancestry,” Villanueva said.“In other words, we are as many races as any other American. We are American from the Americas.  Our color is in our name.”

Johnathan Rabolo, the president of the Hispanic Student Union, introduced the audience to Villanueva.   

“I had the privilege of having lunch with Villanueva and found out not only does he serve our community through literature and books but he also served our country and is a veteran,” Rabolo said.

After Villanueva was finished speaking, students were handed notecards as they walked in and wrote down the questions they had. The questions were moderated by one of Villanueva’s former students, Xavia Harrington-Chate, from Auburn University.   

“There was a point in time where I was visiting in his office so much for his wisdom and insight of my life like what am I doing academically where am I going,” Harrington-Chate, professor of composition and technical writing, said.