International Diversity
Every year, the Smeal community joins the African-American, Indian, Chinese, African, Caribbean, and Hispanic students in celebrating Black History Month, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Touch of Africa, Caribbean Student Celebration, and Hispanic Heritage Month.
These festivals expose the Smeal community to different cultures and traditions from across the globe. As a result, the various ethnic groups with different nationalities tend to appreciate and respect one another leading to the peace and harmony the Smeal community enjoys.
International Immersion
The Smeal MBA Program offers students the opportunity to visit one of four pivotal business regions as part of the college's intensive international business immersion experience. In 2010, students discover Santiago, Chile; Shanghai, China; India; and San Francisco in the U.S. for international students.
Chinese Lunar New Year
On Monday evening, February 19, 2010, the MBA Association along with many student volunteers from the Asian community hosted the celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year for fellow students, faculty, and staff.
The Atrium of the Business Building took on a festive appearance as the students adorned the stairways with diamond-shaped pieces of red paper depicted with ‘lucky’ characters, Chinese lanterns, and Spring Couplets. The evening began with a presentation by Jessica Ho and Yao Wang who shared the origin of the Lunar New Year. It seems that many many years ago there was a monster called “Nian” who would make an appearance as the year end was coming and would eat the people it saw. It was realized that “Nian” was afraid of red color and big noise; thus, began the traditions of decorating their homes all in red and setting off fireworks to make loud noise. Other aspects of the new year celebration were shared with fellow students and a traditional Chinese feast was enjoyed by all. The evening concluded with a Chinese song being sung by one of our current Indian students, Shakuntala Khandhaduri.
The year 2007 is “The Year of Golden Pig” which comes every 60 years, means good luck/easy to get a lot of treasure and will bring extreme luck!
Diwali Event
The MBA program prides itself on creating international events that give all MBA students, faculty and staff a chance to appreciate and participate in unique events. This year’s Diwali event was the first international event for the incoming first year class, and a great opportunity to integrate them into our inclusive community.
This year, we were fortunate enough to have over 160 MBA students, faculty, staff, and family members join us in celebrating the Indian celebration of lights. The night started off with multiple traditional Indian dance routines. Both Indian and non-Indian students participated in creating entertaining routines that had the whole crowd cheering for more.
Other Diwali highlights include: a modern Hindi and Nepali song, a spicy dish eating contest, an Indian culture pop quiz, and lots of fun! This event is one of many that facilitate cross-cultural learning in the MBA program. Another international event that carries the same function is the Chinese New Year event, which will occur this year on February 18, 2010.
The event showcased dancing, singing, and a slideshow of India along with a presentation about the history and traditions of Diwali.
