FSU Students Share Global Traditions at Maclay School's Annual Festival

Maclay School hosted its annual Global Festival on Saturday, February 28, bringing together cultural displays, performances and food from around the world for students and families to enjoy. The event provided a fun and engaging opportunity for the school community to experience global traditions firsthand.

The Center for Global Engagement (CGE) at Florida State University participated by collaborating with three international students who shared their cultures with festival visitors: Aashutosh Pokharel, a chemical engineering undergraduate from Nepal; Anum Akbar, a first-year economics student from Pakistan; and Rise Kagawa, an international exchange student from Japan studying sociology and Chinese.

These students hosted a table where they spoke with families about their traditions and wrote visitors’ names in their home languages; an especially exciting highlight for many of the younger attendees.

Pokharel appreciated the students’ eagerness to learn, sharing: “My favorite part was the interest that people showed in learning about other cultures - increasing their own knowledge about the world.” Akbar noted how curious and open-minded Maclay students were. “It was cool to help people learn about the traditions from my country.” she said. “You can always understand a person better when you understand more about where they come from.” Kagawa echoed the value of sharing cultures, saying: “I was so glad that so many people, especially children, were happy to hear about my culture. This broadens our perspectives and cultivates our understanding of how important it is to know about the world.”

The Global Festival continues to be a meaningful tradition at Maclay School, fostering curiosity, respect and global awareness among students while celebrating the rich diversity of the school community.