BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Bluefield High School and Bluefield State University partnered to host their second multicultural day.
“Rural America welcomes people from all over the world,” said Sudhakar “Jammy” Jamkhandi, Professor of English and Director of International Initiatives at BSU.
That statement was proven correct by the Bluefield community on Friday, where college students and high schoolers alike experienced firsthand accounts of a range of world cultures.
“All presentations were interesting, and insightful and fun,” said Maria Zalduondo, a teacher at Bluefield High School and one of the organizers of the event.
With both university students and faculty joining in and sharing their cultures with the community, one Jordanian presenter said the reception from the students was incredible.
“Well, it was a beautiful, one-of-a-kind experience. I’ve got to come back to high school basically and speak to some of the students. I represented my country, I showed them a lot of my country, I saw the enthusiasm and their willingness to listen and see what Jordan is like,” explained Omar, an exchange student from Jordan, studying at Bluefield State University.
Jamkhandi underscored the importance of diversity with this thought:
“When anybody told me ‘you just won’t make it’, I always said it to myself, just you wait and see,” said Jamkhandi.
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