St. Thomas University’s Wall of Flags celebration acknowledges international students once again during the ceremony to celebrate its multicultural community.
On Nov. 19, students, faculty, staff, as well as members of STU’s International Students Association (STUISA) and STU’s Student Union gathered in Sir James Dunn Hall to commemorate the international community and the additions to the landmark Wall of Flags.
“Each flag represents color, a unique culture, a tradition and a journey that brought a student here to school,” said Rigel Testas, the president of STUISA and an international student from Mexico.
“It’s a reminder that even though we’re thousands of miles away from home, we are not alone.”
The new additions to the wall featured Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Italy, Uganda and the United Kingdom, making a total of 44 flags that represent both exchange and international students.
“For the 14 per cent of students who are international, each flag represents a leap of faith, a decision to leave home, face the unknown and chase a dream,” said Pearl Gyamfi, STUSU’s VP Administration and international student from Ghana, in her speech during the ceremony.
Sidnel Longuma, a first year student from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who grew up in Uganda shared that she was happy to see Uganda’s flag hanging on the wall and is excited to see the DRC’s flag next year.
“I love the diversity,” she said. “I love how you stop and realize that, ‘Hey, we’re all not from the same place or the same country and we all don’t speak the same languages and that’s just really cool.”
Since it’s her first time being far from her home, Longuma felt homesickness was the most difficult thing to overcome at the beginning of the term.
“It was really hard just coming to a place where you know literally no one,” Longuma said. “But some people have definitely helped the transition be smoother, like my roommate and friends I’ve met from class or other international students.”
A great part of what helped her adapt to a new environment was the opportunity to share her culture and language with other students who understood how she was feeling.
“They definitely helped me, because you could share culture,” she said. “I met other people who spoke French because French is my first language and it feels like home.”
Rodrigo Nunes is an exchange student from Brazil and STUSU’s International Student Representative. Nunes spoke during the ceremony and shared how relevant the international community has been to his experience at STU.
“I’ve never seen something like that before,” he said. “I felt really emotional because it’s so nice to see that in the same place, there are people from so many different countries and cultural backgrounds.”
International students face many challenges that include language barriers, cultural shocks and homesickness. According to Nunes, the relevance of the international community lies on the strength and resilience of students to make new connections and turn STU into their home away from home.
“The first few weeks I felt really alone and I thought I couldn’t handle it,” said Nunes. “But, I was actually not alone. Lots of other people were going through the same situation and we were doing it together. It was then I realized I could handle it.”
