SRU students taste coffee from around the world

Published by adviser, Author: Samantha Figard - Rocket Contributor, Date: November 11, 2015
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An International Coffee House was hosted by the Office of Global Engagement and the Internations Club in the Spotts World Culture Building on Tuesday during common hour for students and faculty with an interest in tasting coffees from all over the world.

Internations Club Public Relations Coordinator Deliana Martinez Pena was in charge of the event that provided students and staff with international coffees, snacks and the chance to view artifacts from a variety of cultures.

“We hope faculty and students are able to experience the many different cultures from around the world, some of which are represented here on campus or were at one time, by sampling coffee from around the world as well as viewing the many different artifacts that past and present students have handed down to the Office for Global Engagement. Each artifact tells a story and connects people to a location, culture or person,” Martinez Pena said.

The coffees featured were Rwanda Light Roast, Belgium White Chocolate, Irish Crème and decaf Colombian. Treasurer of Internations Club, Sithie Rizwan said she attends the Coffee House every year because of the collection of artifacts displayed from different countries.

“It’s interesting to get to know about the artifact and their countries of origin,” Rizwan said. “The coffee and snacks are a bonus, but even so, I really liked the Belgian White Chocolate flavor because it tastes good even without milk or creamer and sugar.”

Advertising for the Coffee House, as well as the other Internations Week sponsored events, was publicized campus-wide. Study Abroad Adviser, Theresa Thrower was in attendance at the Coffee House this year to witness the amount of students and staff that made appearances throughout the tasting.

“We had one of the best turn outs this year and we always love to see a combination of international and domestic students attend the event,” Thrower said. “Anytime we can spread knowledge of culture around campus, we are happy.

Thrower said she believes the success of this year’s Coffee House is due to the Internations Club E-board getting the word out and also the location of the event because Thrower said Spotts is a very busy building.

International student Dilmini Diyakelinawala was just one of many who participated in Internations Week. For the international students not attending Slippery Rock University permanently, involvement in activities like Internations Week allows for connections to be made that may have not had the chance to occur otherwise.

“This is my first international week at SRU,” Diyakelinawala said. “I think this week is beneficial for students because it is a learning point as well as a leisure time for students. It helps an international student to interact with another international student. So far I’ve met a lot of other international students I never met during orientation.”

The coffee house attracted students who have a love for coffee, as well as students with a curiosity for learning about new cultures and made for an open environment to mingle.

“By trying different coffees from around the world and exploring the different artifacts we have out, students are able to spark conversations among each other and with our international students,” Thrower said. “These conversations lead to greater interest in the culture we have right here on SRU’s campus. For example, conversation about the coffee and artifacts led many students to come discuss study abroad opportunities with me. They received the travel bug just by attending a two hour event.”

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