About | Latinx Student Cultural Center

Hours of Operation

(Fall/Spring Semester)

Monday – Thursday: 8:30 am – 9 pm

Friday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

History

In 1994, the Latinx Committee, a group of NU faculty, administrators, staff, and students proposed a unique plan: a Center that they could call home. Their vision was to create a Center in which people could come together and share their academic struggles and achievements, as well as their culture.

This Center would also find a way to give back to their community. The vision of a Latinx Center was a way to take a theory and to put it into practice. This theory centered around the idea of transforming the classroom experience into community related activities and services. The work of this group culminated in the creation of the Latinx Student Cultural Center and its opening on October 2, 1997.

The Ground Breaking Ceremony took place on April 29, 1997. Those who participated are some of the many people who have been and continue to be great contributors to the development of the Latinx Student Cultural Center at Northeastern University.

Why the ‘x’ in Latinx?

In 2017, the LSCC made the conscious shift from “Latino/a” to “Latinx” to honor and include members of our community who have been historically oppressed and underrepresented. This includes but is not limited to our indigenous peoples, queer and non-binary identifying individuals.

“Latinx” is used as an inclusive term to include any individual who self-identifies as Latino|a|e|x or Hispanic, and is inclusive of gender, racial, and ethnic identities.

Staff

DIRECTOR

Sara Rivera, M.Ed. (she/her/ella)

Sara has been a staff member at the LSCC since 1997, just a few months after the LSCC opened its doors at 104 Forsyth Street. In her years of employment, she has had the pleasure of meeting many students and has been a witness to their successes. As Associate Director, she works closely with the LSCC staff to create programs and events. Sara is Chair the LaCLA Scholarship Committee overseeing the LaCLA Peer Tutoring Program, which is offered during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Sara is a triple husky earning a AS in Business Administration, a BS in Leadership and an M.Ed in Higher Education Administration, and was inducted into the Sigma Epsilon Rho Honor Society. Sara has also received the VP Award for Outstanding Advisor Involvement for her service as LASO’s advisor. She is a mother of two very smart daughters, in which she has instilled the importance of a college education.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Rodrigo Mendoza Lee (he/him/el)

Born and raised in Peru, Rodrigo moved to the U.S. as a teenager to pursue a college education. He has worked as an educator in Boston for eight years. During his time as a teacher and student advisor at Boston Arts Academy, Rodrigo discovered that his passion for working with students was more focused on advising and supporting their leadership and skill development, rather than teaching content. He is deeply committed to empowering underserved and historically marginalized students by facilitating access to transformative resources and opportunities.

Most recently, Rodrigo served as the Assistant Director of Student Activities at Boston University. As a first-generation BU graduate, he was excited to return to his alma mater and introduce innovative programming that brought students together and encouraged meaningful community building in the post-pandemic era. He is proud to have created and implemented large-scale, campus-wide programs that have since become institutionalized as annual traditions. He looks forward to continuing to grow alongside the LSCC familia and making a lasting impact on the well-being and long-term success of its members.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Claudio Concepcion (he/him/el)

Claudio started at the LSCC in 2022. He received his B.S. in Political Science from Stony Brook University. Previously, he worked as the Diversity Coordinator for the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance at the Obama Foundation which seeks to build a safe and supportive community for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity.

Originally from the Bronx, NY, Claudio came to Boston to join LSCC staff. He is passionate about helping students shape themselves for a better future, beyond just helping them academically. He is excited to be at the LSCC and to get to work with students and student organizations to help them achieve their goals.

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

Rosa Torres (she/her/ella)

Rosa Torres is the Administrative Coordinator of the Latinx Student Cultural Center (LSCC). She has worked at the LSCC for over 15 years. Rosa was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She moved to Boston, MA when she was a teenager. In 1996 she graduated from Charlestown High School in Charlestown Boston.

Rosa attended One with One Academy where she received a certificate in intensive administrative training. As the Office Assistant, Rosa assists the center with translations Spanish and English, manages the LSCC front desk, supervises work-study students, and is the orientation representative for the LSCC, she is also in charge of Hora del Café Spanish conversation event.

The LSCC staff is available by phone or video call during normal LSCC hours.

Book Appointment Here

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the LSCC resides on the ancestral and unceded lands of the original Massachusett people. While we acknowledge the historical context of traditional territories, we recognize Colonialism is a current and ongoing process. These territories have and continue to exist in a colonized space.

To honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this territory on which we gather, we acknowledge all of this, and remember that many of us are visitors on this land.