By: Damaris Abreu
Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th to October 15th to raise awareness of the many contributions made by prominent members of the Hispanic culture across all of the United States. Its history dates back to 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed a week in September as Hispanic Heritage Week. Then in 1988, President Ronald Reagan helped expand the observance to its current month-long span. But it wasn’t until 1989 that it was declared officially as a National Hispanic Heritage Month by President George H.W. Bush.
At Tri-C, Hispanic Heritage Month is well observed by raising awareness through one of its long-standing organizations named the Al Lopez Academic Alliance. Unless a student was in need of interpretive services, including instructions on how to register for classes to learn English as a second language, very little may be known about it, other than that its office is located right between the library and police station on the Western campus. Or that it’s housed in the office of its sister alliance known as the Frances M. Franklin Academic Alliance, historically managed by Tri-C’s Black American Council, formerly known as the Black Caucus.
The Al Lopez Academic Alliance organization was founded by Abelino Lopez Jr., warmly known as Al, in 1992 as the Hispanic Council. It served as a bilingual (Spanish/English) resource center to help first-generation, low-income, and immigrant students enroll in and complete their academic programs. The legacy Al Lopez left behind on campus was 32 years of helping students find educational equity through his service as an academic counselor and associate professor.
His impact in the lives of Hispanics in the Cleveland community was astounding. In 1983, he helped start the grassroots organization called Esperanza, which means “hope” in Spanish. His dedication through this organization ensured that students had the opportunity to receive comprehensive after-school tutoring, leadership programs, mentoring, family support services, and substantial college scholarships, all efforts to prepare teens for higher education.
Al Lopez was an esteemed and active member of the Greater Cleveland Hispanic Roundtable (HRT) before his passing in 2014. His life’s work served as a living testimony of how mentoring systems can become cyclical agents of progress. The HRT’s focus is comprised of the “Three E’s”:
- Empowerment: Creating engaged civic participation, promoting advocacy, and ensuring adequate representation in Greater Cleveland.
- Education: Fostering youth development, providing sufficient scholarships, and offering opportunities for ongoing community learning.
- Economic Development: Supporting Hispanic entrepreneurship, aiding with growth through workforce programs, and building institutional establishments.
A hallmark example of his belief in the power of invested time in the youth of the future, will reap an adult wanting to give back to someone else was found in his mentoring relationship with a youth named Victor Ruiz. Lopez’s dedication to mentoring this young man resulted in Ruiz becoming Executive Director of Esperanza and a trustee for Cuyahoga Community College.
Recently, the Hispanic Roundtable launched the RAÍCES Leadership Program, which stands for Raising Advancement, Influence, and Community Empowerment Strategies. The program was created to develop leaders and mentoring pipelines. It’s designed to train and prepare the next generation of Hispanic and Latin American leaders throughout Northeast Ohio.
RAÍCES Leadership Program Overview:
- Core Philosophy: Creating a presence for impactful influence combined with service is the strongest platform for good leadership, and mentorship community fostering strengthened leadership relationships should be intentionally and continually cultivated
- Goal: A steady plan to help above 100 Latin Americans and Hispanic leaders graduate in the supportive mentoring process over a period of five years.
- Sectors Served: Provide transformative leadership opportunities to build strength across business entities, government policy, education systems, healthcare agencies, nonprofit organizations, justice propagating initiatives, and improving the socioeconomic condition of local communities.
- Inaugural Launch: The program’s inception began on August 27, 2026, at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
The RAÍCES Leadership Program is an example of a modern-day result of Lopez’s collaborative groundwork in pioneering supportive mentoring systems.
His reach extended even to the oldest Hispanic social services agency in Ohio: the Spanish American Committee, as a board member. Today the committee continues to serve thousands of families annually through programs like Little Footsteps Bilingual Child Enrichment Center, a dual-language preschool; workforce development; adult financial literacy and a Mi Casa (My House) housing program.
He also helped to bring the national Hispanic Scholarship Fund to Cleveland early in his career. Today his legacy offers scholarships through the Tri-C Foundation called the Al Lopez Academic Alliance Scholarship. With all that Al Lopez accomplished, his devotion to people in traditionally marginalized cultures and impoverished conditions was clear. And he knew part of the key to affecting the future in a positive way was to strongly support the youth.
Understanding the founder’s heart for mentoring makes Esther Velez, Program Manager of the Al Lopez Academic Alliance, very moving.
When Esther was asked why she decided to work for the Al Lopez office, she breathed in, paused for a moment, and smiled as if having a memory that was impactful and welcoming as she said,
“This department gave me the opportunity to start being a student. I came here with a relative, as a lot of us do in a Hispanic household and culture. We always keep company and assist family members when they have little ones and have to go somewhere. And they need assistance with schooling or if they’re going to a doctor’s appointment.
And so, I accompanied one of my cousins on her way to one of her ESL courses she was interested in. And I just happened to see some fliers on the wall about being a first-generation college student. I had no knowledge of what that meant, so I was given the opportunity to learn more about it through the coordinator of this same department that I’m running today.
The Al Lopez department opened their doors to me many years ago. And I was able to go to college and grow in so many different areas. And when the opportunity opened for me to return to this program, I knew I wanted to give back to help the students. I really love the face-to-face interactions with them and helping them increase in higher education. So being in this program is definitely a passion of mine.”
When she was asked about how she came to the United States, she went on to share about her experience and said,
“I’m originally from Puerto Rico. When I came to the States, I was just 10 years old. I did not know any English. We moved to New Jersey, my mother and I. And I had to learn English. The experience was a bit rough. Especially when you need to kind of ask help with something and you don’t know how to ask for it in the English language. And it’s also a cultural shock. So, I had to learn the language, even though it was so challenging all along the way. But I had really good educators.
They took their time teaching me. But I also had the benefit of being a child, so as a child you tend to learn quicker. So, I had that to my advantage. I eventually started some basic college classes like English 101 and entry level math. I changed my degree a few times because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in.”
When I began writing this article, I had decided to begin my report by sharing the research information I found about Al Lopez. I learned that he dedicated his life to ensuring the future of Hispanics and the Cleveland community could thrive by creating support systems to help improve their quality of life.
Only after I started sifting through the lengthy transcription of my interview with Esther did I realize her life was an amazing testament to his work. So, the initial question I asked the program manager when I began the interview was:
“How long have you been with this program?”
Her response was the key to bringing the story of Hispanic Heritage and Al Lopez’s impact full circle,
“Four years ago, I was working as a coordinator with the Academic Alliance program. Although I’ve been here as a program manager for a short month, I was also previously working as a manager in the counseling department here at the Western campus.
I also worked many years ago at the Enrollment Center, and so overall I’ve been working at Tri-C for the last ten years.”
It was wonderful to hear that just as she was mentored and supported by the Al Lopez program, she didn’t forget all it did for her. She learned English. Advanced in education, starting in Tri-C and going on to earn her Bachelor’s degree at Cleveland State University. But she still came back to Tri-C to ‘give back’ to students in the same situations she was in when she was connected with the Alliance and its mentoring culture.
To provide insight about the Al Lopez Academic Alliance from the viewpoint of a student, I interviewed Jennifer (known as Jenni) Minaya.
Jenni’s interview was conducted in Spanish, so the interview questions and responses in English will be boldfaced.
Cuando le pregunte a Jenni,
“Como te ha ayudado el programa de Al Lopez?”
Jenni me respondio,
“Me ayudaron en muchas maneras. Me ayudaron a no sentirme sola. Me dieron un empleo en la oficina. Tambien me dieron asitencia con registrarme en las clases. Este semestre me regalaron una beca de $1,000. Algunos estudiantes reciben $500 y otros pueden recibir $5,000.”
I asked Jenni,
“How has the Al Lopez program helped you?”
Jenni replied,
“They helped me in many ways. They helped me not to feel alone. They gave me a job in the office. I also received help to register for classes. I was granted a $1,000 scholarship. Some students receive $500, and others are awarded $5,000.”
Cuando se le preguntó a Jenni como llegó a aprender inglés, su respuesta fue bien parecida a la de Ester. Las dos dijeron que sus primeras clases en Tri-C era tomando ingles como segundo idioma. Después recibieron mentoría/orientación de un consejero académico.
When Jenni was asked how she learned English, her response was so similar to Esther’s. She shared how she began at Tri-C by taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Then she received academic counseling to decide on which program to enroll in.
Jenni tambien respondió que migro de la ciudad de santiago en el país de la republica dominicana. Compartió como su mama había comenzado a estudiar en la universidad, pero no pudo seguir porque era difícil seguir mientras tenia a Jenni en su vientre. Jenni sera parte de la primera generación de graduados de la universidad tan pronto que termine sus estudios para ser dentista.
Jenni also shared that she migrated from Santiago, Dominican Republic, just four years ago. She shared how her mother had gone to college for a few years, but then had to stop because it was difficult once she was with child, carrying Jenni in her womb. Jenni will be a first-generation college graduate once she completes her dental program.
Solo puedo imaginarme lo que Al Lopez sentiría si el pudiera ver como su amado Tri-C con su Alianza y iniciativos por medio de las becas hoy en dia. Creo que hubiera emocionado de gran manera que aun después de doce anos después de su muerte la misión que tuvo para que el sistema de mentoría se replicara por medio de una mano extendida a otra todavía permanece bien.
I can only imagine if Al Lopez could see his beloved Tri-C with its Alliance and scholarship initiatives today, that he would be deeply moved that even after he passed twelve years ago, his mission of reciprocating and helping hand through mentorship continues. ♡
