Last weekend as part of International Education Week, every dorm on Calvin’s campus participated in an event called International Treasure. For this event, each dorm represented a different country and offered music, food and cultural information on the country in the lobby of their dorm.

Students were encouraged to walk to each dorm and learn about all the different countries. With countries like the Dominican Republic, Greece and Ghana represented, students received a broad cultural experience.

“The purpose of International Treasure is to showcase the different countries represented here at Calvin,” said Esther Im, a sophomore and multi-cultural activities coordinator in her dorm.

With the number of international students growing to just over 11 percent of Calvin’s population, Im believed it was important to show the different cultures of students that currently attend Calvin.

“There are so many international students here at Calvin,” said sophomore Emily Annett. “It is great to celebrate their cultures.”

“I think it is important because Calvin has students that come from all over the place, not just the US,” said sophomore Sarah Kennedy.

Im hoped that International Treasure would “open the eyes of students to different types of food and another culture.”

“I think it’s great,” Annett said of the event. “There are so many foods I’ve heard of, but I did not know where they came from. But now I do!”

As students enjoyed different foods from different countries in each dorm’s lobby, they also got to experience different lifestyles.

“Ghana in BHT was a fun experience,” said Annett. “The dancing and the music was great.”

“Spain was my favorite,” added Kennedy. “They had a fun game you could play which made it a little more than just taste testing.”

Kennedy added, “It is important for international students to share their culture with us, and it is important for us to remember that there are plenty of other countries beyond the United States.”