Students and scholars from across the globe come together for Thanksgiving dinner at VCU

By Amelia Heymann

An American tradition had a worldly flavor Tuesday night as Virginia Commonwealth University's Global Education Office hosted its annual Thanksgiving dinner for international students.

From turkey and stuffing to mashed potatoes and green beans, international students and scholars - joined by some peers from the United States - sampled holiday classics at what has become a very popular table. For the past two years, the event has filled its international student and scholar spots within 24 hours, according to Kelly Richard, a global learning specialist with GEO.

Chineme Onukwughara, a student from Nigeria who is pursuing her Ph.D. in chemistry, had enjoyed last year's Thanksgiving dinner along with some lab colleagues and relished her return this year. She said international students appreciate how the event is tailored to them.

"It gives you an additional sense of belonging [and] happiness," Onukwughara said.

Richard noted that while the holiday season often brings families together, many international students are far from home, so the Thanksgiving dinner offers a sense of community. And while the holiday has a complicated history, there are many ways people celebrate. The VCU gathering offers insight into the traditions, and it fits the GEO's mission of bringing together international and domestic students and scholars.

"VCU is richer because of international student participation in the community, and we want our domestic students to be able to learn from that," Richard said. "But also it's great for our international students to learn from our American students … about what Thanksgiving is, and how you celebrate Thanksgiving from someone who has perhaps grown up their whole life celebrating it."

For the past two years, the annual Thanksgiving dinner has filled its international student and scholar spots within 24 hours, according to Kelly Richard, a global learning specialist with GEO. (Photo courtesy of Cruz Walden)

Charlie Facciola, a domestic student majoring in real estate and finance and minoring in Spanish, has participated in several GEO events and said the Thanksgiving dinner was a great way to meet new people from different cultures - and have conversations that revealed unique backgrounds and perspectives.

Shahd Allameldin, an Egyptian student whose base college is in Lebanon, said conversations at the Thanksgiving dinner were like traveling to another country. To facilitate dialogue between domestic and international students, all tables had icebreaker questions such as "what are you grateful for?" and "how do you celebrate gratitude in your culture?" But Facciola said conversations about such subjects came up organically.

"I think all cultures have some day or holiday where you can sit down and eat food and be with your family and talk about things you're thankful for," he said. "It just shows how similar we are that people from different sides of the world are able to sit down and have a normal conversation about food and what they're grateful for and about family."

The Thanksgiving dinner was part of the GEO's International Education Week programming from Nov. 18-22.

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