When international students arr
ive at Shorter, entering into the new culture can be a daunting task, and one of the most important aspects of becoming familiar with Shorter is connecting the international students with the rest of the Shorter community. Assistant Vice President of International Programs Linda Palumbo realized that in order to achieve this goal the international students needed to have the chance to connect with other students, so she developed the annual international dinner.
The Shorter international dinner occurs twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, and is made possible by partnering with the Shorter BCM. This spring’s international dinner was on April 26, 2015.
Through the dinner, Shorter’s international department invites students to make a dish from their home countries. This year’s dinner featured dishes from countries such as France, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Iran, and Guatemala.
When asked about the dinner, junior psychology major Daniel Ware said, “They had a great diversity, the food was well prepared, and they did a great job of organizing it.”
He is right. A lot of time and effort from the international department, BCM, faculty, and students goes into organizing and conducting the international dinner, and they all work together to make it happen.
“I’m always really impressed with how many students and faculty come. We have really good support,” said Administrative Assistant of International Programs Kaitlin Akvan.
The entire purpose of the dinner is to help support all of the international students while they are far away from home, and this dinner is only one of the many ways that the Shorter community is trying to make its honored international students feel at home.
