During A and B lunch at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Welcome to America Club organized their first Universal Culture event where students from different cultures came together to celebrate their countries on Nov, 29. Activities such as face painting and dancing were offered for students interested. Colorful and decorative cardboard posters made for the club were placed at the center of the courtyard displaying information on countries from around the world.

Officers from the Welcome to America Club proposed the Universal Culture event at a meeting, with the goal of ensuring that students from different countries had their cultures represented. They gathered posters of different countries made by students from Spanish teacher Luz Aguirre’s classes to inform others about the different cultures present around the world. The students in the class were instructed to make a board on the country they are from or are associated with. The boards included information on famous foods, locations, music and symbols that are common in the country.

“It is important to share your country,” club president Mariana Mateus said. “The goal is to share so everyone can feel a part of something.”

Students that partook in the event said the experience was unifying, as they identified shared experiences with people who had different heritages. They connected with people who shared the same background and language as them.

“I really love that I get to see not only people from my country but from a bunch of different countries,” junior Sara Calderón said. “As an immigrant, it’s very comforting to see other people that have either the same or similar experiences as me.”

Over 80 students from each lunch engaged in the activities present. Numerous students were in line to paint their country’s flag on their cheek while others were observing the vivid posters.

“My favorite part of the festival is that we get to interact with a lot of cultures,” junior Mariana Rojas Ramos said. “We also get a lot of people that can learn about other countries that they’ve never seen before or have very little representation in our school.”

The Welcome to America Club plans on hosting the Universal Culture event again next year because of its evident success. The event allowed participants to celebrate their culture while meeting students of similar and different backgrounds.