South Carolina Centro Latino
About "El Centro"
The South Carolina Centro Latino or "El Centro", bridges cultures statewide through linguistic awareness and accessibility. Our three pillars create institutional space for belonging, civility, wellness and equity: Latinx Interdisciplinary Studies, the Public Humanities, and Translation and Community Interpreting. The SCCL also studies the Spartanburg Racial Equity Index findings on monumental challenges facing Hispanics and Latinos/as.
"Race and place determine largely whether people have the opportunity to thrive. Rising income inequality and persistent gaps in health, wealth, income, employment, education, and opportunity prevent low-income people and people of color from realizing their full potential, and in places where inequities are ignored and perpetuated, quality of life is limited for all residents... Inequities do not exist in isolation but are part of a reciprocal and complex web of problems associated with inequality on multiple fronts."
– Spartanburg Racial Equity Index
Mission
The SCCL brings visibility to Latinx Interdisciplinary Studies, thought leadership on authentic community outreach and inclusion by strengthening Latinx recruitment, increasing mentoring, promoting civic leadership, engaging bilingual and Spanish-speaking community members in the public humanities and expanding translation and community interpreting studies and certifications for students and bilingual professionals to further equip the Latinx workforce locally and globally.
Vision Statement
SCCL is nationally and internationally recognized for its collaborative, community-based, cultural and linguistic approach to increasing the visibility of Latinx Interdisciplinary Studies, the Public Humanities, Translation and Community Interpreting and talent in all spheres of higher education and civic life.
South Carolina Centro Latino Initiatives
|
El Centro Programas
Latinx Studies
Check back soon for more information on El Centro and Latinx studies.
Avanzando
Check back soon for more information on El Centro and Avanzando studies.
Public Humanities
Check back soon for more information on El Centro and Public Humanities .
Spanish Translation/Interpreting Minor
Students pursuing the minor in Spanish Translation and Community Interpreting learn theories of translation and interpreting, study ethical guidelines for working as a translator or interpreter and apply their skills in service learning projects for area non-profit organizations. More than forty nonprofits locally and around the state have engaged our minors in service learning and internship opportunities in an effort to do outreach to the growing Spanish-speaking community in South Carolina, the Southeast and beyond. Students gain valuable interdisciplinary experience, career-readiness skills and academic and industry mentors while working with certified translators and interpreters. Students majoring in other disciplines (such business, healthcare, legal professions, or education and more) can prepare to be a bridge for communication in multilingual communities near and far.
Interpreting in Education Settings Certificate
The Interpreting in Educational Settings for bilingual professionals is offered every summer.
Study Abroad Program in Spain
The Spain Study Abroad program with Professor Maria Francisco Montesó occurs every May summer session.
*Program is currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Annual Panel on Translation and Interpreting
The Annual Panel on Translation and Community Interpreting: "The Bridging Cultures through Communication" is held every March to celebrate Upstate International Month.
Recruiting Events
Premier Fair
Sophomore Summit
Leadership
Director
 |
Araceli Hernandez-Laroche, PhD Director, South Carolina Centro Latino 864-503-5221 | hernan49@uscupstate.edu |  @AraceliHLaroche |
Dr. Araceli Hernández-Laroche an associate professor of modern languages, and the foreign-language coordinator and assistant chair of the Department of Language, Literature and Composition at USC Upstate. The first tenured Mexican-American professor in USC Upstate history, Hernández-Laroche serves on the boards of Spartanburg’s Chapman Cultural Center, the Spartanburg Academic Movement and the LGBT Fund of Spartanburg. She represents Alianza Spartanburg on OneSpartanburg Inc.’s Inclusion Council. Hernández-Laroche was named the 2020 Career Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women of South Carolina and the 2020 Inclusion Advocate of the Year by OneSpartanburg. She was selected to participate in the 2020-2021 cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program through the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Hernández-Laroche received a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in French and Francophone studies and Italian studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her Master of Arts and Ph.D. in French from the University of California, Berkeley.
Assistant Director
 |
Maria Montesó Assistant Director, South Carolina Centro Latino 864-503-5203 | francis4@uscupstate.edu |
Maria Francisco Montesó is a senior instructor in Spanish at USC Upstate. Montesó graduated from Universitat Jaume I, Spain, and earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in translation and interpreting studies in Spanish, Catalan, English and German. She has more than 10 years of experience teaching Spanish, translation and interpreting. Montesó is a Ph.D. candidate. Her research interests center on educational interpreting and pedagogy in translation and interpreting studies. She incorporates in-class pedagogical innovative projects and technology-intensive teaching-learning methodologies as part of the Quality Enhancement Plan and Active Learning cohorts. Montesó creates a service-learning component in her translation and interpreting courses, through which her students provide translation and interpretation services in the South Carolina Upstate in order to support non-profit organizations’ outreach into the area’s Hispanic community. She also created a unique certificate course to train bilinguals in English and Spanish to become professional interpreters in educational settings.