As part of its Hispanic / Latino Heritage Month events, Metropolitan Community College is presenting an in-person and online presentation with Javier Ávila. The event is free and open to the public in Elkhorn Valley Campus 114; online participation requires registration to receive a link.

Standing Up is guided by the critical question, “When representation is scarce, where do we turn?” To address this question, Ávila relies on his signature style of blending storytelling with his original poetry—only this time, he offers his most personal reflection yet. Ávila recounts his journey from a boy learning to speak English in his native Puerto Rico to becoming an award-winning author, a beloved English professor, and the only Latino ever to be named Pennsylvania’s Professor of the Year. He invites audiences to consider the unlikely, overlooked elements needed to write one’s own narrative when grander, more visible alternatives seem out of reach. At its core, Standing Up is a heartwarming tribute to the power of education, family, and community.

Javier Ávila is a professor of English as well as a poet, novelist, and public speaker. He writes in both English and Spanish, and his work has earned him numerous awards, including his most recent honor as the recipient of the Cultural Arts Award given by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. In 2015, he was named Pennsylvania’s Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.