Meet Emma Gonzalez, a freshman at UTPB who is a member of UTPB volleyball team and is a nursing major. As a proud Hispanic and Latina, Gonzalez's cultural heritage plays a significant role in shaping who she is and the way she approaches life. 

"It's an important part of who I am because it shaped me as a person and the way my morals and values are and how I go about life," she says. 

A cherished tradition in Gonzalez's family is the annual celebration of Día de Reyes on January 6th. 

"Every year on January 6th we get together with family friends and we celebrate a very Latino Catholic holiday called " Día De Reyes" and we celebrate the three wise men that came and gave baby Jesus gifts and we cut a circular cake called "Rosca de Reyes" and you hope to get a little plastic baby Jesus in your rosca piece as a sign of a blessing," said Gonazalez.  

Despite not being a Falcon for long, Gonzalez has come to appreciate the diversity and how welcoming people are in the community.