Darden’s Global Business and Culture Club (GBCC) hosted its first Global Week to celebrate the school’s cultural and ethnic diversity through a series of events. The week was jam-packed with events, including a kick-off spearheaded by Dean Melissa Thomas-Hunt, a global food festival, a speaker series throughout the week, and an Indian dance workshop to name a few. The club’s President, Roshini Rajan, sat down to talk about how Global Week came to fruition. She emphasized the importance of this event happening in the beginning of the semester to help International students feel welcomed at Darden. She felt this event was, “the perfect opportunity to highlight the global nature of the school!” The events held throughout the week were well received by students and faculty alike. One of the highlights of the week was the Global Food Festival (GFF). More than 150 participants representing over 25 countries had the opportunity to showcase their authentic ethnic cuisine, traditional costumes and cultural performance to nearly 500 attendants. A key goal throughout the week was to embrace the abundant diversity throughout Darden and highlight the ways in which diversity is paramount in a successful workplace and academic environment. During the week, GBCC held a speaker series entitled “Leveraging Diversity in the Global Marketplace” hosted by Judy Shen-Filerman from Dreambridge Partners. The session aimed to raise awareness about critical cross-cultural norms that affect business interactions through experiential dialogue. The events held throughout the week focused on preparing Darden students to step up as leaders and effectively lead in a global context. The events throughout the week provided international and domestic students with a platform to showcase their backgrounds. GBCC helped foster a welcoming environment for all students as they prepared for a successful semester. Global Week served as the impetus to GBCC’s yearlong goal of promoting and showcasing Darden’s diversity.
