The university just wrapped up one of their biggest weeklong events of the year: International Student Education Week. This week’s function served as a way to recognize all of the international students who traveled from their home countries to come to the university to pursue a higher education, whether they take their degree back home or create a new life for themselves in America.
When asked about the background for the celebrations this week, Jason Howell Jr., the Office of Graduate and International Student Life’s (OGISL’s) coordinator for student engagement, said, “International Student Week is really an opportunity for students on our campus to fully explore their cultures and traditions, and really share their religion, as well as their background with the university community, which has been a wonderful experience.”
The International Education Week consisted of several events throughout the week, including Music Trivia, Cultural Tabling and International Career Panels. The most notable, according to Dorothy Classen, OGISL’s international student life advisor and Jason Howell, the duo behind the success of this week, was the Diwali Celebration, World Dance Extravaganza and the Taste of Africa.
Diwali is the Hindu Festival of Lights, representing the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” Diwali was celebrated in the Beckerman Recreation Center, where a stage was set up for several amazing performances to take place, including special appearances from Classen, who had quite a few dance moves up her sleeve. The celebration served authentic Indian cuisine for all of the attendees. Afterward, everyone took to the dance floor where they finished off with exhilarating music, combining modern Western American hits with Indian and Spanish hits as well.
The World Dance extravaganza took place Wednesday, Nov. 15 in the German Club. This event involved the dedication of two clubs: the Nepalese Community Club and the African Graduate Student Association (AGSA). Both clubs had tables set around the central room with each showing photographs and other miscellaneous items, such as the statue of Buddha for Nepal that represents the country’s main culture of Buddhism. Both clubs also hosted performances from several dancers and the AGSA ramped things up a notch by creating an interactive environment, inviting all attendees of the event to learn some basic African Dance Moves. “It was totally their idea, although I wish I had come up with it myself, I will definitely be incorporating this for next year,” said Classen when asked about how she came up with an activity she considered “revolutionary.”
The event with the second-highest number of attendees was the Taste of Africa event, taking place Friday, Nov. 18 in the Bucknall Theater. This event had a mixture of music, stories and dances that filled the seats. It started with a spokesperson describing the beauty, education, religions and traditions of Africa, educating the audience on the continent and the rich and fruitful life that its residents truly live. The next performance was a play that told the story of a king’s struggles to keep his chiefs and his people happy while also changing a religious aspect that was severely inhumane. After several other performances, the emcee announced a fashion show, with pairings walking through the theater with fashions representing the different countries of Africa. The finale for this event was AGSA making a second appearance this week, singing “We are one” and accompanying it with a dance routine, once again providing a mixture between modern hip hop and pop music as well as traditional African music.
When asked about their favorite parts of this week, Classen said that she “not only gets to know about and get close with students from other cultures, but our students get to have that experience as well.”
When asked about the future for this week-long event, Howell said that “if there is something you, a student, thinks that we can offer, let us know and we would be more than happy to work with you on that, so that way we can help you see that come to be something.”
Classen reiterated the availability of their office, and enthusiasm to work with students to coordinate events catered to their interests.
If you would like to suggest an event to Howell or Classen, feel free to reach out to either of them via email at either [email protected] or [email protected].
