Yakima Valley College’s 2023 Diversity Series, in conjunction with the Associated Students of Yakima Valley College (ASYVC), will host novelist and memoirist Reyna Grande. Grande will host talks with students and a reception and public reading. See details below for a complete list of events and activities.

May 18, 2023
Student Talk & Luncheon – Yakima Campus
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Hopf Union, Building #9

Public Reception and Reading – Yakima Campus
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Parker Room, Deccio Higher Education Center, Building #8

May 19, 2023
Student Talk & Luncheon – Grandview Campus
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Student Activity Center

Grande is the author of the bestselling memoir “The Distance Between Us” and its sequel “A Dream Called Home,” in which she writes about her life before and after arriving in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. Her other works include the novels “Across a Hundred Mountains” and “Dancing with Butterflies,” which were published to critical acclaim. Her books have been adopted as common readings by schools, colleges and cities across the country.

Grande has received numerous awards for her work including an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award and the International Latino Book Award. In 2012, she was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Awards, and in 2015 she was honored with a Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino literature. The young reader’s version of “The Distance Between Us” received an Honor Book Award for the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature from the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs, a Eureka! Honor Awards from the California Reading Association, and an International Literacy Association Children’s Book Award. Writing about immigration, family separation, language trauma, the price of the American Dream and her writing journey, Grande’s work has appeared media such as The New York Times, the Dallas Morning News and CNN.

Since 2005 Yakima Valley College has partnered with several area organizations to host events and lectures through its annual Diversity Series. The events provide YVC the opportunity to bring diverse perspectives to everyday topics and push the boundaries of the term beyond race, gender, social class and sexuality.

For more information contact Instructor Mark Fuzie at mfuzie@yvcc.edu.