Celebrating International Week 2021
Celebrating International Week 2021
Most of us on campus couldn’t help but notice the display of colorful flags near the bell tower representing countries from all over the world the week of April 5-9. These flags represented the approximately 240 international students from 55 different countries that call Sam Houston State University home during the week-long International Student Organization (ISO) International Week event that spotlighted these students and their importance to the Bearkat community.
The goal of International Week each year is to provide the campus community an opportunity for knowledge enrichment using cross cultural communication. With the challenge of International Week 2020 being cancelled due to COVID-19 and restrictions still in place this year, ISO set out to plan an International Week that would still provide cultural knowledge enrichment despite those challenges. ISO got creative in how to achieve this goal. This year, one of the new ways ISO promoted International Week 2021 was through the international flag display, which became a symbol of the event and served to promote the week’s online events.
In previous years, one of the key events of International Week was the International Fair in the Lowman Student Center Yard, but this year, the fair moved online. International students created fun facts, presentations and uploaded videos about their home countries. To encourage participation in the virtual fair, ISO hosted a scavenger hunt, which required participation in the online events and helped get the campus community involved. As part of the scavenger hunt, students had the opportunity to share what the best part of International Week 2021 was. Here are some of the answers collected:
“My favorite part of International Week has been learning about new cultures from people from different countries. I’m a Geography major and all my professors are from Texas, and personally, I have never left Texas. So, it was nice to see a new perspective.”
“My favorite part of International Week was the scavenger hunt. Normally, when a week of activities is put on, it’s easy to see the list on Monday, get caught up in classes, and forget by Wednesday. But, having daily surprise challenges to look forward to helped me participate in International Week more thoroughly. I’m glad I did because I enjoyed learning about different countries this week!”
“My favorite part was getting to know a little bit about other countries. I got to feel like I was there through the presentations and activities.”
The International Student Organization put on International Week 2021 with the help of the Office of International Programs, Study Abroad, Program Council, and the Campus Life Development Fund. Because of a campus-wide effort, International Week 2021 highlighted the diversity and uniqueness of the Sam Houston State University community.