Celebrated actor, author to be featured speaker as Purdue Global celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

As part of the Purdue Global Office of Organizational Culture and Inclusive Excellence Speaker Series, Manzano will present a keynote address on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. ET via Zoom, culminating more than a month’s worth of events celebrating Hispanic culture. Registration is required prior to the event.

Honored by Latina Magazine as one of the “25 Greatest Latino Role Models Ever,” Manzano spent more than 40 years on “Sesame Street” after breaking ground as one of the first Hispanic characters on national television. She has been an inspiration to countless others, sharing her journey of courage and perseverance on her way to becoming one of the most influential Latinas in television history. Manzano is also an accomplished author, having written several children’s books and novels, as well as a memoir, titled “Becoming Maria.” Her first children’s picture book, “No Dogs Allowed!,” was distributed by General Mills through an initiative to encourage childhood literacy, resulting in more than 1.5 million copies being distributed.

Purdue Global’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration features numerous virtual events, including book club meetings, a first-generation college student mixer, movie panels and more.  A full list of events can be found online.

Purdue Global, Purdue’s online university for working adults, serves about 35,000 students, 15% of whom are of Hispanic heritage. 

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. It offers flexible paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, military service and previous college credits, no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University. For more information, visit https://stories.purdue.edu/purdue-global/.