Culture flourished during St. Thomas’ International Education Week Nov. 11 to Nov. 15 as students put on events to share their native countries’ traditions and customs.
According to Director of International Services Lori Friedman, St. Thomas has 436 international students enrolled, and International Education Week allowed these individuals to show other students pieces of their cultures. This year’s week-long celebration included a fashion show, cultural Japanese tea program, leadership forum, soccer tournament, international fair and the Globally Minded Student Association’s Culture Fest.
Sophomore Saad Alhajri said his favorite part of International Week was the Culture Fest. He thought the most memorable act was when a Mexican student sang to his girlfriend in front of the crowd.
“I like how he wrote the song and then sang it for his girlfriend who was in the show—so it was like romantic and good,” Alhajri said.
The Culture Fest included student entertainers from all over the world. A group of African dancers, who encouraged the entire audience to join them on stage at the end, was a crowd favorite. Senior Mary Ejiofor, one of the dancers, said it was an honor to be a part of the event.
“I think it’s great for people to learn about other cultures—both here and globally,” Ejiofor said. “(The group) feels proud to be part of the celebration of culture.”
Junior Zizo Amro said International Education Week allowed students of different cultures to open up and share about their countries.
“I’m so happy to see the international students becoming (acclimated) and adapted into the American culture,” Amro said. “The international community is amazing because they respect the differences between the cultures, and when they share their own culture, they always try to make sure they are not going to offend anyone.”
Sophomore Krzysztof Walczak served as the master of ceremonies for both the fashion show and the Culture Fest. He said the events were popular for international students, but he wished more American students would have attended.
“It would just give an idea for Americans about how many international students there actually are and how big the diversity is here,” Walczak said. “It should be more promoted among Americans to help the internationals branch out. I mean, there are some Americans that attend, but it’s mostly internationals attending their own events.”
Sophomore Will Lake, an American student, said he would have attended if the event had been better advertised.
“I think more advertisement or people talking more about it off campus—passing out flyers trying to get more people to go to it would help,” Lake said. “I guess I don’t really hear about many events. I would like to get more involved with International Week.”
Despite his concern with American attendance, Walczak said working and participating in International Week was enjoyable.
“I had so much fun working on the events during the international week, mostly because of the interaction with everyone there. It truly was a bonding experience,” Walczak said.
Alison Bengtson can be reached at beng4632@stthomas.edu.