In Fall 2019, on the first day studying at Valencia College, I decided to take the initiative, attend activities, and make new friends that I have not usually made before. I knew about the VISA Club, the Valencia Intercultural Student Association at the West Campus, on the orientation day, and I then joined the club.
General Meetings
In the second general meeting of the VISA Club, I volunteered to present my country, Vietnam, to other members from diverse cultures. It is great that I got a lot of good feedback. There was a student that drew and gave me a picture of myself.
In other general meetings, I met a lot of new friends from different countries. I also learned about their cultures through amazing presentations and activities.
International Education Week 2019 (IEW) - A World Full of Color Event
In the international education week in Fall 2019, I also took part in A World Full of Color event and had a table that presented about Vietnamese culture through special holidays.
There were many tables at the event, so I had taken a look at those tables before the event started. The event was truly colorful because all cultures are unique and special.
Become a VISA Club Officer
From a member with full of positive energy, I became a Secretary for VISA Club during Fall 2020 and Vice President for VISA Club during Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 to bring wonderful experiences to other international students. As officers for an international club, my team and I created opportunities for international students to make friends, communicate and learn more about different cultures. We organized Meet and Greet meetings, movie nights through Discord, a virtual food drive that partner up with Second Harvest Food Bank, Rhythm - Heartbeat of Nations Event during International Education Week 2020, Spring Festival Week and other virtual activities. Even though working online is challenging, we tried to provide helpful activities as much as possible.
(Rhythm - Heartbeat of Nations Event and Meet and Greet meetings)
(Virtual Tour in Vietnam - one of the activities in Spring Festival Week)
REFLECTION
I participated in VISA Club because my initial purpose is to make new friends from other nations. Being a part of this club got me to think about the social skills that global citizens should have. I learned how to work in a multicultural environment and be more active in engaging in constructive activities. This makes me a better global citizen than before because the skills I learned prepare me to work in and easily adapt to an interconnected world.
Uyen Le
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