Battling Hurricane Ida and Celebrating Hispanic Heritage with Héctor Huyke

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from the Gilman Scholarship Program! Alumni Ambassador Héctor Huyke joins the A. Gilman Podcast to discuss how he and his team at FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) prepared for Hurricane Ida, floods, earthquakes, and a multitude of other natural disasters. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Héctor goes into detail about what this time of year means to him and why he hopes future Hispanic and Latinx students take advantage of study abroad. He offers valuable advice on what to look for in your exchange journey, and how you can bring your experience home. 

Héctor Huyke (Spain, 2016) used to be a writer, tutor, and journalist in Puerto Rico before Hurricane María. In the aftermath of the disaster, he started working in FEMA’s digital communications team in 2017. Since then he has continued to dedicate himself to serve Latinx communities before, during, and after disasters with a multifaceted and bilingual approach to crisis communications. As part of FEMA’s Digital Communications Team, Hector has contributed to both small and major response and recovery efforts throughout the nation, including hurricanes, wildfires, COVID-19, and earthquakes.

Connect with Héctor through email at hectorjuanhuyke@gmail.com.