January 25, 2017 students, faculty and community members from all walks of life gathered together for the Meet the World event hosted by Fumi Cheever, assistant director of international recruitment and student affairs at Western.
Meet the World offers a unique “speed-dating” atmosphere. Participants are aligned in two rows, directly across and facing each other with International students on one side then American identified participants on the other.
Participants were given exactly two minutes to share information about their lives before switching seats and starting a new one-on-one conversation with a different International student.
“During this event, attendees are forced into very uncomfortable situations. They were asked to initiate conversation with total strangers,” Cheever said. “But, it gives them opportunities to fulfill what both groups of people are looking for.”
At the start of the event participant’s body language expressed, hesitation and nervousness as they all sat quietly and far apart while waiting for instructions. Once underway the participants started to pull their chairs in closer to each other and lean in with more ease during the conversation.
International student Oganya Agbaji from Nigeria has participated in this event every semester she’s attended Western, making this her third Meet the World event.
“I remember the first time I did it [Meet the World], I was nervous. I was meeting international students as well, but now that I’ve been here over a year and it’s exciting. There are always new faces and it’s fun to sit and be part of it now and see how interesting it is,” Agbaji said.
This event is beneficial for both American and International students. According to Cheever, International students say that they don’t know how to start a conversation with or become friends with American students.
“This is a win-win situation for both sides,” Cheever said.
Participant’s switched seats more than 15 times during Meet the World, giving them each a glimpse into one another’s lives. Some students shared where they are from, what their major is and what they enjoy to do in their free time.
Acquisitions Collection Management Librarian Michelle Diaz attended the event to meet more students and find out why International students chose Western. She was able to share a little bit about where she works, but mainly Diaz was there to hear their story.
“They [International students] are all here for different reasons, so that was kind of interesting. We have a great variety of International students here so it was nice to have that chance to talk to so many people from so many countries,” said Diaz.
Although two minutes did not allow for in-depth conversations, many participants gathered afterwards to solidify some of their new friendships.
“You make a new friend. You’re not going to be close to everyone you met but at least one or two people stick around and you see them again. You hang out and obviously you learn more about cultures,” said Oganya.
Cheever believes that the ultimate success of Meet the World does not lie with the coordinator or department, but rather it lies within the students and the friendships they make during the event.
As for Diaz, she thinks that this was a wonderful opportunity that staff, faculty and students should all take advantage of when it comes around again.
“If you are just interested and want to meet some people from different countries and have a chance to have a very short conversation then this would be it. This would be a great opportunity for you,” Diaz said.
Meet the World is a reoccurring event that provides an opportunity for American and International students to meet.
