Exploring diversity and culture at WSA’s country presentation

By Suyaishar Sebastian

On Feb. 5, World Student Association, had their first country presentation of the spring semester on Malaysia, a country located in Southeast Asia at 8 p.m. in the Breen Classroom.

Two Malaysian representatives, Waldorf University seniors, presented.

Diversity and cultural awareness are well-explored in WSA’s country presentation nights that take place every few weeks each semester.

WSA has been organizing country presentations since October 2015 when the club was founded to cultivate an inclusive learning environment and promote cultural sensitivity.

A total of 18 students attended the country presentation, along with the Director of International Student Services, Megan Gabriell.  

Adam Tan, one of the presenters and vice president of WSA, said it was a great experience being able to share information about his country.

“WSA has always been about connecting different people from all over the world and having the opportunity to share my perspective of the culture with them will always be a wonderful feeling,” Tan said.

A Waldorf alumnus, Claudio Moraes da Cruz, who co-founded WSA and served as the first president claimed his thought process behind doing country presentations was to be open to learning about each other and breaking stereotypes.

“People kept connecting Brazil with forests and bad infrastructure, but I wanted to show them that it was way more than just forests and carnivals,” Moraes da Cruz said.

Sophomore business major Tori-Ann Francis thinks the country presentations are informative and dynamic.

“It gives me a sense of what different countries are like, though I have not been there yet,” Francis said.

These country presentations include a brief introduction on the history, geography, political system, types of food, fun places to visit and many fun facts.