Students from 26 countries call The Storm King School home this year. To give them a venue to share their cultures, celebrate their diversity, and usher in the warm weather, Friday, March 30 was declared Global Community Day. Organized by ESL Department Chair Cathy Hecht, the day was kicked off with an international buffet lunch followed by an afternoon of cultural activities around the campus.
Senior Polina Shlovskaya from Russia paints the face of junior Paul Cohen-Addad from France
In the days before the event, students helped Chef Andrew and the dining hall staff to prepare many authentic dishes including blinis and jam from Eastern Europe, Seafood Paella from Spain, Iskender beef kabob from Turkey, Chinese Char-Sui pork, African Peri Peri chicken, and rich desserts like flan and baklava. The festivities began at noon on Friday, with students serving the specialties they helped to prepare. The food was delicious and in such demand, many came back for second and third portions.
Smiling students preparing to serve delicious international cuisine
After lunch, the gymnasium was open for sports fun, the Smidt Room housed the Galactic Community for computer gamers, and Orr Commons was filled with cultural tables set up by the students. It was a colorful scene as Muhammed Akbaba ‘18, Can Tetik ‘18, and Uzay Polat ’19 stirred pots of Turkish coffee, Polina Shlovskaya ’18 painted faces wearing traditional Russian dress, and Zu Charles Cai ’19, Xuechun Iris Zhang ’19, and Siyu Gloria Wang ’19 from China offered visitors cups of soothing Chinese tea. Some students also created a mandala with colored sand, while others chose to play games, sing, or strum on instruments.
Students helping the dining hall staff prepare international foods
Mrs. Hecht was very pleased with the outcome of Global Community Day this year. “Global Community Day was a tremendous success and I want to thank all who were involved: Chef Andrew Comey, all the student volunteers, and the rest the SKS faculty and staff. We are truly a global community that showed a lot of spirit throughout,” commented Mrs. Hecht following the event.
Dominique Gooden ’21, Xinyi Ella Gao ’18, and Liwei Wang ’20 working on a mandala