A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.758.3849. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: May 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be e-mailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer; Heather Darrow, contributor; Shawn Stewart, contributor; Lydia Gober, contributor; Tatiana Shehedah, contributor
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Annual event showcases college's diverse population
By Tatiana Shehadeh
Special Contributor
Students from 22 nations exhibited a potpourri of costumes, foods, arts and crafts in the Spring Creek Campus Atrium March 23 celebrating the fourth annual International Day at Collin, sponsored by the International Office, International Student Association, Middle Eastern Student Association, Student Life Office and Student Activity Fee Allocation Commitee.
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| Booths displayed a variety of items from around the world. | Booths displayed a variety of items from silk kimonos to jade figurines, while international students bustled amongst the sightseers, offering Turkish coffee, a variety of Middle Eastern pastries, dried fish from Mexico, Indian jewelry, and information about their homeland, customs and culture.
The International Women’s Club of Plano joined the event by displaying several colorful and enticing booths from Latin American countries, France and the United States.
Middle Eastern women from our community also participated by presenting items from the Arab World and Iran.
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| Maureen Nduta, a student from Kenya presented Collin Trustee Stacy Arias with a Kenyan welcome by offering bread and a Kenyan drink. | The day’s events began with a welcome note from Collin Trustee Stacy Arias who wore a Moroccan ceremonial outfit. Maureen Nduta, a student from Kenya presented Trustee Arias with a Kenyan welcome by offering bread and a Kenyan drink.
The highlights of the day included was a Parade of Nations led by African drums and dancers, followed by a fashion show modeled by students’ ceremonial attires and ending with an entertaining talent show. The all-day forum included the U.S. National Anthem sung by Collin’s Chamber Singers and Expressions, a song from the pre-school children from the lab school, a popular fortune teller, Mehndi and a belly dancing performance.
Students, staff and community members walked around the colorful and busy atrium making the rounds of the exhibit booths to find the answers to the International Trivia, and at the same time learning new information about countries they have only seen on a map.
Charles Ngetha, an international student from Kenya, said, “I had an amazing time trying different foods, learning about other countries, and making new friends.”
Janki Modi, a student from India said, “International Day is a good way to share one’s culture with others and at the same time it gave me the opportunity to learn about other countries.”
Sehar Tanveer, a Pakistani student commented that the best part of the day for her was “watching the dances from different countries.”
Indian students took the first place trophy for best booth followed by Iran’s second place.
There are more than 540 international students at Collin from 72 different countries. This all day forum’s goal is to acquaint the campus with the different countries and cultures at Collin.
For more information on programs for international student, call 972.516.5011.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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