We'd like to congratulate Hernando Sevilla-Garcia, who was chosen as the recipient of the 2021 
Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in International Education (EDIIE) award in the category of "Rising Star." Hernando was recognized at Global Inclusion 2021, Diversity Abroad’s annual conference, which has constituted the most comprehensive forum for education professionals, students and stakeholders committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in global education and cultural exchange.
Diversity Abroad is the leading membership organization that inspires and supports educators, policy makers, industry professionals and other stakeholders in leveraging global educational programs to support the academic success, interpersonal development, and career readiness of students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. Through their EDIIE Awards, Diversity Abroad celebrates outstanding institutions, organizations, individuals, and students who exemplify the vision and ideals of Diversity Abroad to support diversity & inclusive excellence in global education. The "Rising Star" award is open to professionals in the United States and abroad who are at the beginning stages of their career and who have made significant contributions to advancing diversity and inclusion in the field of international education and exchange.
For the same reasons Hernando won this "Rising Star" award, he was recently promoted to Assistant Director for Special Initiatives within the Diversity Relations department, where he tirelessly pursues his efforts to increase the number of Latinx students abroad day in and day out. He created and continues to foster students through the Tu Mundo initiative, which is an integral part of IES Abroad’s mission to educate global leaders and designed to help more students from established and emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to study abroad. It’s also important to note, with all of Hernando’s work with Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Latinx students, that he seeks to promote, facilitate, and make more accessible study abroad for all underrepresented populations.
You may also recall that Hernando was recently awarded the NAFSA Region V Conference Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in International Education Award in Fall 2020, which certainly makes him a prime candidate for this award. Since earning this award this past fall, Hernando has not wavered in his commitment to future study abroad students nor educating and empowering his colleagues in the field.
Hernando had a number of people he wanted to thank for his achievements contributing to this "Rising Star" award:
Hernando's colleague, at IES Abroad, Shaina Moran, shared: "We are so proud that Hernando was chosen for this year’s EDIIE Rising Star Award. That said, we certainly aren’t surprised! Hernando works tirelessly to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice through his role as Senior Diversity Relations Manager [now Assistant Director for Special Initiatives - Diversity Recruiting & Advising] at IES Abroad and his own professional and personal endeavors, all fueled by his passion and support for fostering opportunity, most evident through his work and partnerships with Hispanic-Serving Institutions."
Please join us in congratulating Hernando for this honor and recognizing his hard work and continued commitment to diversifying education abroad—thank you for all that you do, Hernando!
Read more coverage of this year's EDIIE Awards from PIE News.
About Hernando: Hernando Sevilla-Garcia, MS, is an Assistant Director for Special Initiatives at IES Abroad. After spending a year in the organization's Academics department as a Program Associate, he now strategizes with international higher education stakeholders to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and to ultimately increase the participation of minoritzed students in study abroad. A recipient of the Gates Millennium and QuestBridge scholarships, he started his undergraduate career at the University of Pennsylvania and then completed a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science with Minors in Portuguese and Interdisciplinary Latina/o Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Hernando also received a Master of Science from Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy. While a graduate student, he conducted research on the factors that play a role in enrollment of Latinx students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions in study abroad programs. Due to his work at the intersection of higher education, internationalization, public policy, and social justice Hernando’s work was recently recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative-University, Google’s Pay It Forward Challenge, and NAFSA’s Region V inaugural Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in International Education Award. An Adjunct Faculty in the Department of History and Political Science at Saint Xavier University, his academic interests focus on the Latinx experience in the U.S. and formation of diaspora communities. Born and raised in Cali, Colombia Hernando is also active in his native country’s revitalization of internationalization in the post-secondary education system.
