Millbrook Celebrates Diversity With "Flavors of the World" Event
Millbrook students and faculty hosted a successful Flavors of the World event on April 17. 25 students cooked foods representative of 16 countries for the Millbrook community to enjoy.
Traditional homemade foods were prepared to represent many countries including Albania, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Mexico, Myanmar, Puerto Rico, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, and Vietnam.
Students and faculty began planning for the event in March, and all students were invited to share food from their home region or a country that they are passionate about. Some students chose to share dishes from their travels, like Jason Sheldon ‘16, who was influenced by his recent visit to Myanmar and chose to cook a Burmese dish.
“Millbrook School is very wealthy in its diversity of students,” says World Language Department faculty member and International Student Coordinator Eleni Stefanopoulos. “Events like the World Culture Fest, allow the Millbrook School community to become more aware of the cultural diversity that exists on campus, and I hope it encourages us all to embrace the uniqueness that each member of the school brings.”
The Flavors of the World event is one of many events, forums, and conferences that students and faculty have participated in throughout the academic year to explore what diversity means at Millbrook and beyond. This includes the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Florida, which was attended by six Millbrook students in December.
“The Student Diversity Leadership Conference was truly an incredible experience,” says Aria Bowden ’18. “It was really interesting to develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics of diversity and discrimination. Through discussion and sharing ideas, we are able to gain new understanding and develop our opinions.”
Millbrook also studied these concepts through media and forums. Students hosted a forum in February to watch the documentary White People. Afterwards, students and faculty facilitated fishbowl discussions around the topics raised in the film, including white privilege and the meaning of diversity.
“I think the fishbowl discussion was a huge success, many students put themselves and their opinions out there, and it was a great for our community to hear these opinions,” says Bowden ’18.
Events, forums, and conferences offer opportunities for informal and thoughtful discussions around complex topics like diversity. In these settings, students and faculty share, connect, and reflect, which informs their actions on and off campus, ultimately empowering them to better our immediate community and the larger world. Please visit our photo gallery for images from the Flavors of the World event.
Events, forums, and conferences offer opportunities for informal and thoughtful discussions around complex topics like diversity. In these settings, students and faculty share, connect, and reflect, which informs their actions on and off campus, ultimately empowering them to better our immediate community and the larger world. Please visit our photo gallery for images from the Flavors of the World event.
