On Friday, April 22, students from I-House and the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) put together their 10th International Show! Trinity’s student body is composed of about thirteen percent international students and this is the perfect chance for this vibrant community to share their various cultures with everyone on campus. This staple event is a decade old and reminds me of a much simpler time when I performed for the show my freshman year, reciting a spoken-word piece in Spanish. There hasn’t been an international show in almost two years due to the pandemic, and I could tell the organizers were fired up to put on their best show yet!
Being born in the Dominican Republic, and attending a predominantly white institution like Trinity, it really is amazing to see events like this where students from all parts of the globe can share their passions for their culture. Some standout performances were seeing students Flamenco and Bollywood dancing, to renditions of poetry, to songs, and folk music. I got to see a traditional Irish step dance, performed by Gabrielle Desrochers ’24, and Ismael Irizarry ’25 gave a heartfelt love letter honoring his home of Puerto Rico. A couple of days after the show I spoke with Vidhi Vasa, 22, a current senior and e-board member of I-House about what went into organizing this event:
“Being able to see the show in its full glory, from the flag walk to the different performances, was a treat to our eyes. Hosting and organizing the 10th Annual International Show, was honestly one of the most overwhelming and daunting experiences in the best way possible. The past two years have been a challenge for the club to put up the show due to the pandemic. However, finally being able to have our most anticipated event of the year feels like an achievement in itself. As a senior, it feels like the perfect ending to my college career. It was particularly difficult to revive the excitement around the show since three years of TrinColl classes did not know what the show was about. However, seeing the turnout, including faculty and staff, instilled and revived the feeling of oneness for the International Community. I could easily say that the International Show was the perfect end to International Week and was probably the best farewell the seniors on the e-board could’ve received. This show was one to remember and is one of the many things the seniors (especially those on the e-board) will miss as they graduate.”
Vidhi speaks to something I had not thought about–how this will affect underclassmen who haven’t seen all that Trinity cultural organizations have to offer! As the year slowly winds down and we’re ‘somewhat’ normal, I’m excited to see how these traditions start to become part of the experience for underclassmen who have not had the chance to attend and build that cultural community. Getting involved on campus has been the best way for me to feel comfortable and to build my community to what it is today and I urge the same onto all of you!
Please also take the time to honor these amazing folks that planned the International Show:
Lili Davtyan ’25, Tara Iyer ’24, Tea Brnovic ’24, (Heads)
Asaph Batekreze ’24, Francesco Castagna ’25, Gabriel Sorondo Guirola ’23, Ismael Irizarry ’24,
Nini Tsikhistavi ’25, Aadiv Sheth ’22, Vidhi Vasa ’22
