Page 6
February 21, 2018
Chicago-Style
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Co-Founders and Instructers
Liliana Luna is
being recognized
as a Woman of
Achievement by the
Oregon Commission
for Women for
her outstanding
leadership in
promoting equity
and diversity
opportunities at
Portland Community
College.
Helping Others Succeed
Multicultual center
advocate honored
The coordinator of Portland Community
College’s Multicultural Center on the Rock
Creek campus, a young immigrant woman
who has battled to stay in the United States, is
being recognized for her outstanding leader-
ship in promoting equity and diversity oppor-
tunities for students at the school.
Liliana Luna will receive a Woman of
Achievement award from the Oregon Com-
mission for Women during a ceremony on
March 1 that will be part of the Women’s
History Month proclamation signing by Gov.
Kate Brown.
Luna, 26, serves as an educator, advocate
and role model.
A DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals) recipient, Luna possesses an associ-
ate degree from PCC, a bachelor’s in criminal
justice from Portland State University, and is
working toward a master’s in counseling edu-
cation, also at PSU.
She is responsible for providing an inclusive
environment at the Multicultural Center and
does this by supporting, retaining and empow-
ering diverse students to help them achieve ac-
ademic excellence and become leaders within
the college and their communities.
“Liliana has truly made a difference at the
Rock Creek Campus,” said Rock Creek Pres-
ident Sandra Fowler-Hill. “She has made a
marked and sustained impact on equity and
inclusion. Because of her, this is a better
place. She exemplifies leadership and accom-
plishment in Oregon, in education and civic
engagement. She has had a demonstrable im-
pact on the community she serves.”
Additionally, Luna leads the Diversity
Council at the campus, developed a partner-
ship with the Mexican consulate to provide
scholarships to undocumented and DACA
students from Mexico, and founded the an-
nual DREAMers Gala to raise money and
awareness for undocumented students.
Her latest accomplishment is helping to
open the first Development, Relief, and Ed-
ucation for Alien Minors (DREAM) Center
at PCC. The center is the first of its kind in
Oregon at a community college or university,
providing resources and support for undocu-
mented and DACA students and their fami-
lies. According to Luna, there are roughly 400
DACA students at PCC, with an estimated
200 based at Rock Creek.
“This is a huge accomplishment for me,
too,” she added. “When I was a student I
couldn’t say I was undocumented because it
was taboo. Now, I can hold my head up high.”