International students make up 15 percent of Oklahoma Christian University’s student body, and they are inviting American students to join them as they celebrate and share their cultures during International Education Week.
“International Education Week is a nationally recognized event that occurs every November, and it’s a way for OC to showcase all the different cultures we have here on campus to our American students,” Jacob Shuart, international programs student activities officer, said. “We have a lot of students who want to teach other students about their culture.”
International students showcase their cultures through a series of activities throughout the week. The main focus is the seven booths located throughout campus that represent the seven continents. Each booth will seat student representatives from the different countries of that continent to teach others about that culture.
“We are setting up and creating booths for every continent and we’re even putting Antarctica as kind of a joke,” Shuart said. “All of these continent booths will have the flag from different countries we have represented on campus and throughout the week there will be student-led events. So, for example, one day from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the morning you can have crepes at the European booth.”
Junior Michelle Umurungi, president of the student-led international club Chroma, said she hopes the booths boost relationships between international students and their American classmates.
“I hope [American students] can understand what it’s like for someone to come over to a different country and be able to fit in and kind of lead a different lifestyle and start over,” Umurungi said. “So I hope they join us and make those relationships with us. They know their culture obviously better than us, so help us to fit in and let us become a part of a community of students, not just international or domestic students.”
In addition to the booths, there will be a game night, movie night and a talent and fashion show.
“It is a good opportunity to see and learn about different cultures while enjoying the show,” senior Jing An said of the talent and fashion show. “You will see different traditional clothes from different countries as well as different styles of dancing. Some international students will sing in their own language, so you might not understand, but I am sure it will still be interesting.”
Chroma, formally known as People to People International, expects this year’s International Education Week to be more successful than past years’ events, thanks to Student Government Association involvement started by previous President Kyle Keessee.
“This is the first year that SGA has had a multi-cultural committee and is providing funding for these events and that’s why we can do these fun, crazy things,” Shuart said. “Last year Kyle Keesee was SGA president and also an intern with the international team at Memorial Road and so he kind of had his feet in both camps and noticed a lack of activities designed for international students. He felt that 15 percent of the student body is made up of international students so we should have money set aside for them.”
Members of Chroma have been working hard to put together a full spectrum of activities for American students to experience, Shuart said.
“It’s super ambitious, but I think it will be fun for our students,” Shuart said. “This is a week that we do things for the American students. It’s our gift to them for doing so much for us always because our student body actually is really good about integrating and taking care of international students.”
Umurungi said International Education Week is the perfect platform for American students to get a sense of the diversity of the campus and allow international students the opportunity to thrive.
“It’s a time to share what my culture is about and what my experience here has been and it’s kind of a time for me to shine as an international student and just show who I am and what I’m about; both my country and my continent,” Umurungi said.
Chroma hopes to use this week to even spark an interest in American students to discover new cultures and perhaps study abroad.
“Maybe something interesting on the culture booth attracts you an you decide to go to China to learn more, who knows?” An said. “I think this is an important lesson people should learn at the university.”
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