Tufts International Club

I Club Presents: Parade of Nations Week 2023!

What is Parade of Nations Week?
Parade of Nations is a week-long celebration of cultural diversity and the Tufts International Community!
In collaboration with many other cultural student groups and students, we’ve created an exciting line-up of events, ranging from film screenings, a food festival, a fashion show, and culminating on March 10th with our long-running flagship event, the Parade of Nations Show!
What is the Parade of Nations Show?
A colorful celebration of Tufts' international community and cultural diversity filled with dance and music performances, community showcase and the unmissable Flag Show!
How can you get involved?
Flag Show Signup:
https://forms.gle/MxFM1T14vSLTmujq5
Parade of Nations Tickets soon available!

Dear Tufts international community,

I hope that everyone is having a great summer! Today, I’m proud to introduce the Tufts International Club’s new core team and talk about I-Club’s accomplishments this year.

Coming back to in-person activities after over a year online was definitely an adjustment. It took a little while for us to navigate this format, especially considering that some e-board members had never been able to attend I-Club events in person before! But the e-board worked tirelessly to not only bring back our flagship events, the International Gala and Parade of Nations, but also understand what the Tufts international community was looking for this year, and what we could create a space for.

This year, we hosted our first event in a series called “Queer Across the Pond” with the LGBT Center that discussed the experiences of LGBTQ+ international students, collaborated with the Africana Center to talk about leaving Africa for America, and hosted an event about navigating cultural differences at Tufts. We also held multiple World Cup qualifier and movie screenings, our traditional pumpkin carving event, a food festival that featured several groups and individuals, an open Taekwondo practice with Tufts Taekwondo, and more! We were also able to fundraise for various causes this year, raising money at our events, on social media, and in the Campus Center. I am extremely proud that we were able to help those organizations in some small way.

I am so grateful for the team, who have shown so much dedication and commitment to helping the Tufts community! I am also grateful for this year’s core, VPs Luke Heald and Emily Glickman, Secretary Nur Akpolat, and Treasurer Kanon Ishibashi.

That said, I’m so proud to announce this year’s core team:
President: Audrey Njo
Vice Presidents: Luke Heald and Leo Sajkov

Audrey joined I-Club her freshman year, and right away, her passion was evident. From the amazing designs she’s created as part of the Outreach team, to her leadership as Vice President during her gap year, Audrey has shown a deep understanding of I-Club’s mission. Working with her has always been a wonderful experience, and I have no doubt that her goals for I-Club, including making it a more inclusive community, are sure to both grow the club and greatly help the international community at Tufts!

Luke also joined I-Club his freshman year, when it was completely virtual! Despite the online format, Luke showed a lot of dedication and enthusiasm as part of the Social team. His work as Vice President this year made it clear how much he cares about the Tufts community; he was always willing to take on more responsibilities and lend a hand, and I was very grateful! I’m certain that he will continue to show that same passion this year too.

Leo joined I-Club last year as part of the Dialogues team, and immediately showed a passion for serving the international community. He was instrumental in developing some of our most popular Dialogues events this year. His thoughtfulness, approachability, and ability to create a space for important conversations will make him an incredible Vice President.

I am so, so excited to have Audrey, Luke, and Leo leading the club this year. They’re going to do an incredible job!

As I end this (long) post, I want to thank I-Club and the Tufts international community for shaping my Tufts experience - I couldn’t have asked for a better team to close out my time at Tufts with, and I can’t wait to see all the amazing things they do this year.

Much love - for the last time, your President,
Aadhya

✦I-GALA PICTURES✦ click link below!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fzlwZkLigKq4UUxYm7epOzpnKrJp3v0d?usp=sharing

we hope you enjoy the pictures and had a great thanksgiving break!!

Photos - Google Drive

Get to know your community after a year of virtual classes!
SIGN UP FOR YOUR SPEED DATE HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRysC1tsmWYUhkhfGPvNj1Wjh-noozzfrYMW-A2_uYnBOWfQ/viewform

Dear Members of the Tufts I-Community,

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Today I am writing to reflect on I-Club this year and our achievements.

This academic year was tough: we were all faced we many unexpected events, uncertainties and I am sure everyone had a difficult time adjusting to these drastic changes.

Yet, despite these hardships, I-Club was very lucky to have five new, awesome members to join our club! The 18 members all worked together to navigate the new school year. With a lot of laughs, memes and some difficulties, we managed to successfully host our annual I-Gala, PoN and other online events. We also participated in a cross-college event with international clubs in various universities such as UPenn, Northwestern and MIT.

We even made our own merch with an awesome design😎

I am extremely grateful for our team this year for their hard work, patience during frustrating times when Core was ✋lost✋and when the timezone calls made some of u wake up …

I am also thankful to core: the two VPs, Audrey and Aadhya, treasurer Kanon and secretary Nur for helping this year go much much more smoother than expected!

Overall it has been ANOTHER great year with I-Club, and I am now happy to announce the next core team who will be leading the upcoming YEAR!

President: Aadhya Shivakumar
Vice President: Luke Heald and Emily Glickman

Aadhya joined I-Club in her Freshman year. She has been a passionate member, taking on leadership roles such as secretary, head of dialogues, VP and now will be leading the team as President! Working with her for the last 3 years has been nothing but smooth. Her passion for the I-Community, deep understanding of the clubs mission and future ambitions will definitely take I-Club to achieve more than ever. ☺️

Luke joined last year and has been a vital member to our team! His enthusiasm during our zoom meetings has lightened up the calls. He has reflected his passion for I-Club over the year, and I am certain his ideas will be crucial to our future growth. 📈

Emily also joined I-Club last year, and has been one of the most driven people on our team. Despite being her first year, she has not been shy to share her ideas and took crucial roles in important times! She will be a great VP that members can look up to and rely on. ❤️‍🩹

The whole team is very confident that new core will take us to crazy places and more achievements during the next year! It has been a blast to lead this wonderful team and excited to see what is yet to come.

If you have any feedback on how we did as a club this year, please message us or email us at [email protected].

Have a happy vaxxed summer! See you all real soon 🤞

Miran

Hi all!

As the Fall semester begins, I-Club will be having 2 General Interest Meetings via ZOOM! If you are interested in learning about I-Club, meeting our team members, and understanding different ways of getting involved with the international community at Tufts, join us for the GIM!

Our GIMs will be held on September 15th, 4 AM EST, and September 16th, 7 PM EST. We know everyone is spread across the world, so please join the GIM which works best for your timezone!

September 15th, 4 AM EST: https://tufts.zoom.us/j/98126795915

September 16th, 7 PM EST: https://tufts.zoom.us/j/94740580507

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Dear Tufts Community,

In light of the recent events, the I-Club team has decided to crowdfund to support the NAACP. The NAACP is a nonprofit that fights legal injustice and aims to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensures the wellness of all people. Our crowdfund is on our Instagram Story:

With Love and Solidarity,
Tufts I-Club

Dear all,

Today I have the pleasure to announce the new International Club Core and also our accomplishments this year.

As you know, the Tufts International Club (I-Club) is not only a club, but also a family—a family that welcomes students from all backgrounds, walks of life, and perspectives. One of our main objectives has been to make I-Club a home for students—a home in which they can share their perspective and learn from others’. We were able to see this come to fruition in the Fall semester when we organized our first International Gala and International Gala Week, to celebrate the International Education Week and also build an intentional space for students to interact, and share the common experience of the gala—an event in which we shared stories from home through poetry, dance, rap, and music. Through the dedication and commitment of the entire I-Club team, we co-hosted events with several recognized and unrecognized student groups, and also with the Rez! Our events became opportunities for storytelling.

Later in our Spring Semester, we hosted several events such as the International Game Night and “Wine” and Cheese with the LGBTQ Center, in addition to our famous Parade of Nations Week and International Food Festival. Our team, once again, worked arduously to build these spaces for storytelling, learning, and intercultural exchange. Day and night, we worked designing the branding of events, organizing the logistics, making sure the ex*****on of these events would follow our plans, and, of course, ensuring that students enjoyed every second of these experiences.

None of these events would have been possible without the support and leadership of Miran Miyano, who was one of the two I-Club Vice Presidents, Aadhya Shivakumar, who chaired the Dialogues Committee, and Tristan Spratt, who chaired the Social Committee. With that said, I am so honored and humbled to announce next year’s International Club Core.

President: Miran Miyano
Vice Presidents: Aadhya Shivakumar and Tristan Spratt

Miran joined I-Club two years ago and quickly learned how to not only make amazing designs through Canva but also managed to “volunteer” as Parade of Nations MC! Her contagious energy became instrumental this year as she thrived as co-Vice President. Throughout the year, she demonstrated a profound understanding of I-Club’s mission and also showed us all how to work hard and play hard. We worked closely together in organizing our Fall and Spring flagship events and also making sure plans were executed seamlessly. Her passion for I-Club made everyone’s experience this year memorable—her energy, ideas, organization, and vision made her fundamental to have on core and lead I-Club next year.

Aadhya also joined I-Club two years ago and became Secretary in her second semester in the team! Her ambition and vision for I-Club were founded by her organization and deep understanding of the importance of intersectionality and representation. These understandings were fundamental this past year as she led the team’s Dialogues Committee, through which she ensured students felt comfortable and represented through conversation, dialogue, and even storytelling during I-Club’s Open Mic night with the Rez! Aadhya’s creative ideas for I-Club, such as including student poetry and art in our newsletters and her keen awareness of the needs of the international community, made her a key member to have on core and lead I-Club next year.

Tristan joined two years ago as well and became very adaptable as he took on great responsibilities, such as organizing Joga Bonito! This year, Tristan made sure the Tufts community had fun while playing board games from all over the world, learning how to dance with the Bhangra team, and creating creepy pumpkins in our annual Pumpkin Carving! His creative ideas like going to the Institute of Contemporary Art (canceled due to COVID-19) coupled with his empathetic personality, made him an essential member to have on core and lead I-Club next year.

Miran, Aadhya, and Tristan are incredible in such unique ways. I am so happy to congratulate them as next year’s new core.

Before I end this note, I also want to sincerely thank my fellow seniors in core: Ansh Nemali for being an amazing co-Vice President and our very own I-Club uncle, and Ezgi Yazıcı for being such an on-point Secretary keeping us all on track—I am so happy we got to work together this year ❤️

So, as we’ve come to the end, all I’ve got to say is THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS!!! I couldn’t have asked for a better team to end my Tufts experience with, you will all be forever in my heart. I can’t wait to see the new heights you reach as a team this coming year!

Much love from the Dominican Republic,

Your (como que) now-former-President,

Sarita ❤️