Celebration of Nations kicked off I HEART Travel Week by offering students a tour of different countries in the Kent State Student Center Ballroom Monday evening and created awareness of diversity on campus.

Kent Interhall Council sponsored the event, which offered students a chance to learn about different countries, try ethnic foods and watch dance demonstrations from different cultures.

KIC is made up of student hall council representatives from each residence hall on campus. Each hall was responsible for creating a table that focused on a different country and provided students with information.

Previously called Festival of Nations, the event’s name was changed this year to Celebration of Nations, giving it a more encompassing and diverse feel, said Megan Corder, KIC director of student relations and senior public relations major.

 “We feel that our global community is more impactful when it provides some kind of interaction or opportunity to talk with others,” Corder said.

Corder started planning the event in August, but the heavy planning process started in December.

Students attending the event received passports at the door. When walking around to different tables, students were able to get their passports stamped at the different checkpoints. The stamps could then be used to get ethnic foods that were provided at the event, Corder said.

“Celebration of Nations has sort of been a tradition every year as a way to celebrate different cultures because we know that our residence halls are made up of a lot of different students including international students,“ said Brie Jutte, KIC President and senior interpersonal communications major. “We want this event to be a place for all the students to learn more about it and just to be able to celebrate that.”

Hall Council booths filled the center and outlined the edges of the ballroom, providing a walking path for students to follow through the different countries. Dance demonstrations were held on the third floor balcony during the event.

“I think this is such an amazing event because you get to learn and educate yourself on all these different countries that not a lot of people have heard about,” said Jenna Messenger, Dunbar Hall Council’s director of multiculturalism and sophomore political science major. 

Messenger was on the planning committee for Celebration of Nations along with students Alycia Quelhorst and Drake Bailey.

Contact Lauren Biertempfel at [email protected].