The Sounds and Voices of Diversity and Globalization
The Ferrum College community and its guests were treated to a week of powerful and fascinating academic and cultural events sponsored by the Office of International Programs, the Office of Multicultural Education, the Russian Club and the Holocaust Program. It was a week of intellectual immersion, historical awareness and entertainment. The week of events kicked off with a presentation on Tuesday April 12 by Dr. Hugh Ragsdale, a nationally renowned Russian historian, who spoke on the problems, challenges and prospects of Russia under Vladimir Putin.
This was followed by a series of presentations the next day from students who had the opportunity to highlight their study abroad experiences. In the evening, and with Darren McMillan from Belfast, Northern Ireland as Master of Ceremonies, the audience witnessed a lively celebration of the many cultures at Ferrum College. Dr. Gary Evans, Professor of Music played “Aberystwyth” an original composition which allowed him and the audience to travel through music to Wales, the land of his ancestors. Several of the international students read poetry in both their native languages and in English. The students included Mina Ayob (Afghanistan), Natallia Tallmachova (Belarus) Janaina Fernandez Carvalho (Cape Verde), Jin Yu, and Min Jin Kim (Republic of Korea), Eduardo Carrillo (Mexico), Fiona Diamond (Northern Ireland), Anastasia Kanishcheva (Russia). A violin performance of Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto Arranged for Violin” by Levon Epps, a junior from Norfolk, Virginia immediately came after the poetry reading. The students in the Russian club also treated the audience to several recitations and songs in Russian. Wednesday evening ended with a breathtaking and what could be described as a “bringing down the house” performance by the Ferrum College Step Team led by Morgan McFadden and Martel Price. It was a finale to a great evening that got some of those in attendance on their feet dancing.
What followed on Thursday evening was a memorable event. The members of the Ferrum College community had an opportunity to travel to Africa through storytelling. Dr. Emmanuel Obiechina, a distinguished African literary scholar enthralled the audience with several African tales. The stories were interesting and conveyed moral lessons which the audience identified with.
The week of events was wrapped up with a holocaust presentation on the concept of “forgiveness” organized by Dr. Marcia Horn, Professor of English and Coordinator of the Holocaust program at Ferrum College. With references to The Sunflower, Dr. Zohara Boyd, a Holocaust survivor, and Dr. Rennie Brantz, co-directors of the Holocaust program at Appalachian State University, led the class in a lively discussion.
In the evening, three students and a staff member were inducted into Alpha Mu Gamma, the Foreign Language Honor Society. One of the students initiated was Irina Royter, currently serving as Editor-in-Chief of The Passport.
What the entire week of events brought to the community at Ferrum was a good sense of the powerful presence of diversity and global education in our midst.
Dr. Frederick Torimiro
