Rice University’s Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment host ‘college quince’ for senior Anna Tetrault [Video]

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re focusing on the quinceañera tradition, a birthday rite of passage for 15-year-old girls in the Hispanic community.

Anna Tetrault’s recent quinceañera celebration featured the familiar formal dress, food, and cake, but she didn’t celebrate it as a 15-year-old.

The celebration came much later for her as a student at Rice University.

“Living in an area where my high school was, I think, maybe 2% Hispanic, it was not something I was super aware of,” Tetrault explained.

RELATED: ABC13 and ¡Que Onda! Magazine join forces to empower Latin and Hispanic voicesThe Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice, known as HACER, hosts an annual quince for a deserving student; it’s a tradition that paused during COVID but has since returned.

HACER members Zoe Chavez and Valeria Carillo processed applications from deserving students and planned the ‘college quince’ for Anna to celebrate and share their …