Maryville College celebrates international education week
Maryville College is celebrating International Education Week Nov. 18-22. International Education Week is an initiative of the U.S. Departments of State and Education that celebrates international study and exchange.
According to the Center for International Education, part of Maryville College’s mission is for students to become global citizens and leaders.
“We are committed to providing international opportunities to the students, and International Education Week is a great way to do that,” said Brittany Coats, intern of Center for the International Education. “The week is a time to bring about awareness of international topics at Maryville College while also celebrating an internationalized campus.”
This year’s International Education Week is organized by the Center for International Education and three cultural ambassadors: Onyeka Ononye from Nigeria, Koki Agata from Japan and Ralph Kristl from Austria.
Many campus organizations will also be taking part this year in celebrations, including the Center for International Education, Cultural Ambassadors, Global Citizenship Organization, Impressions Literary Magazine, Environmental Action Team, Peace & World Concerns, Ghana Travel Study Program, Center for Campus Ministry and Residence Life.
MC students also had and will have an opportunity to try international food from various countries throughout the week. Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m., there will be a Global Chef Series in which international students will serve a special menu from their home countries to a small group of guests.
Guests had the opportunity to learn about other cultures, as well. On Monday, students experienced food from Nigeria and Rwanda with chefs Onyeka Ononye, Igor Iradukunda and Patrick Nkurunziza. On Tuesday, Carina Dai and Shanshan Gao from China and Gyuri Kim from Korea prepared food.
Pwint Moo from Burma and Sydney Pham from Vietnam will cook food from their countries on Wednesday. On Thursday, Ricardo Santos, Talat Fida, Sadaf Gharsheen and Nawaf Alfozan will be making food from Honduras, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
There will also be the annual international photo contest all week in the lobby of Pearsons’ where students will be able to vote for their favorite photo along with the Environmental Action Team’s Global Environmental Issues display.
On Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m., the Ghana Travel Study Program, Peace and World Concerns and the Center for Campus Ministry will be hosting the annual Bompata Scholarship Dinner at First Christian Church. The Kuumba Khan Unity West African Drummers, sponsored by the Global Citizenship Organization, will be providing an interactive performance at this event.
Continuing on Nov. 23, Alberto Ordaz from Spain will be hosting a Spanish pool tournament, where he will also share the Spanish’s role in the billiard, the history of pool and the “sports boom” in Spain, giving an overview of all the internationally successful sports of present day Spain.
In conjunction with the tournament, Patrick Nkurunziza will be hosting an International Potluck, where Ordaz will also contribute Spanish food. The event will be held in Carnegie Hall, with the pool tournament starting at 4 p.m. and the potluck at 6 p.m.
“I am so excited to celebrate International Education Week with my friends,” said Lucila Carminatti, an international student from Argentina. “I hope I will learn a lot about other countries.”
Igor Iradukunda, a sophomore international student from Rwanda, said he was excited to present food from his country.
“I can’t wait for MC students to try my food from my country,” Iradukunda said. “Hopefully, they will love it.”