LVAIC Global Student Conference Advances Inclusion and Cultural Awareness

February 27, 2020, @ 2:07 PM

In its third year, the LVAIC Global Student Conference hosted over 80 students, faculty, and staff from across the LVAIC community and from other institutions. The program took place on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at Lafayette College.

Members of the planning committee and conference leaders explained, ” . Many international students come to the United States to study abroad and seek opportunities for meaningful interactions with the general population at colleges. This conference is an opportunity for them to do that. Today, we are here to celebrate global diversity and to grow together through global interaction. One of the key goals of this conference is to advance inclusion and cultural awareness across the LVAIC campuses and beyond. We hope to increase cross- campus interactions of faculty, students, staff and community friends.”

The program began with keynote speaker Farhan Ahmed, Group Technical Program Manager at Instagram, who presented on “Why global outlook matters – A product perspective.” In this role, he leads a team tasked with ensuring high performance and reliability of Instagram products for their 1B+ monthly users. Prior to Instagram, he helped build products and led data science and engineering teams at various companies in New York. He started his career as a Software Engineer at Microsoft where he helped develop the Windows operating system. Mr. Ahmed holds a B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering and an A.B. in Mathematics from Lafayette College and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Following the keynote address, attendees were welcomed to partake in a poster fair featuring the work of international students, study abroad students, and students interested in global topics. Presenters included:

• Medicine and Poverty in Peru by Alexa Spinosa (United States) – Cedar Crest College
• We Act for All Kim Ji-young by Soyun Rho (South Korea) – Cedar Crest College
• Sharing love that I received by Minji Kim (South Korea) – Cedar Crest College
• Rearview: A look back by Isabel Pichardo (Puerto Rico) – Cedar Crest College
• A Brief History of Belfast and Queens University By Harrison Paton (United Kingdom) – DeSales University
• Guest Involvement at Mamma Mia Social Psychiatry Cafe by Erin McKenney (United States) – Lafayette College
• Humanitarian Assistance in Protracted Emergencies: Rethinking the Role of Food Aid in Adjumani, Uganda by Victoria Puglia (Spain) – Lafayette College
• The Experiences of Asian American & International Asian Student at Lafayette College by Rehnuma Nasrin (Bengali America), Danielle Bellefeuille (Chinese American) – Lafayette College
• Japanese Military Propaganda for Young Boys Seen through the Pacific War Karuta Collection By Meredith Randall (United States) – Lafayette College
• Privatization and Resistance in Immigrant Detention by Yazmin Mapti (United States) – Lafayette College
• A Cultural Analysis of the Significance of Nighttime in South African History By Alisha Gangadharan (United States) – Lafayette College
• Examining the Trials and Tribulations of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution in Comparison to Gandhi’s Nonviolent Struggle to Gain India’s Independence from British Rule By Lee Schulman (United States) – Lafayette College
• Music as Motivation for Language-Learning: A Survey of Undergraduate Language Learners by Henry Hinchey (United States) – Lafayette College
• Using Data Mining and Social media to inform stakeholders by Kayo Cecile Jelissa Kamguem (Cameroon) – Lafayette College
• The Mosaic of Romani World By Milena Berestko (Poland) – Lafayette College
• Measuring Hysteresis Loops for Magnetic Nanoparticles (MNP) under Alternating Magnetic Field for MNP Hyperthermia Treatment By Sena Yevenyo (Ghana), Emily Barnes-Taub (United States) – Lafayette College
• Revolutions That Changed The World By Fatimata Cham (United States) – Lafayette College
• Stereotypes and Potential of Introverts by Daolong Liu (China) – Lehigh University
• Assessing the Current School Education Quality in the Developing South Caucasian Countries by Madma Mutallimova (Azerbaijan) – Lehigh University
• Social Media Use Among Youngsters by Ajay Vaidya (India) – Marywood University
• Social Anxiety Disorder by Noha Almusned (Saudi Arabia) – Marywood University
• From the Musket and Spear to the Pen: The transformation of Indigenous resistance to Spanish colonial rule of the Andes in the 16th and early 17th century. by Brenden Malloy (United States) – Moravian College
• Distributing UNESCO Global Citizenship Education by Kate Ekanem (Nigeria) – Muhlenberg College
• The Politics of Performance: Understanding Argentine Identity in the 21st Century by Olivia Garcia (United States) – Muhlenberg College
• “In Other Words:” How Jhumpa Lahiri’s Memoir Makes Us Think About Our Own Global Identities By Brooke Cohen (United States) – Muhlenberg College
• What International Students Want Muhlenberg Faculty & Staff to Know By Kaelyn Kappes (American), Ji Ku (Korean- American), Jiatao Fang (Chinese) and Michelle Sanchez (Mexican-American) – Muhlenberg College
• Plight of Rohingya community by Nur Hossain (Bangladesh) – Northampton Community College
• Introduction to Kenya By Hellen Nyakundi (Kenya) – Northampton Community College
• African Roots By Carmen Alcantara Tapia (Dominican Republic), Ruth Alcantara Tapia (Dominican Republic) – Northampton Community College
• The Power of Immigration By Juan Pablo Adams Castillo (Dominican Republic) – Northampton Community College
• The Hijab By Hajar Berziz (Morocco) – Northampton Community College
• Time-course of resveratrol and piceid synthesis by Japanese Knotweed seedlings By Kedene Clarke (Jamaica) – Wilkes University

The steering committee for this event gathered with the intention of increasing cultural awareness. Each year, this program continues to grow in support of this mission. Expanding this community to non-LVAIC institutions continues to allow for a diversity of presenters and countries. Simultaneously, this event all a unique research opportunity for students interested in a variety of topics. To learn more about this project, please visit the International Student Services office on your campus.

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