Students celebrate Lunar New Year with FYE event at Humber Lakeshore

The Lakeshore Campus rang in the Lunar New Year on February 8, with multiple culture clubs representing various countries all contributing something of their own.

The event, spearheaded by the First-Year Experience Program (FYE), was planned about a month in advance.

Students at the Lucky Raffle station

Samantha Maquera, a fourth-year Digital Communications Student at Humber Lakeshore who works with FYE to organize events, says organizing the event involved getting in touch with collaborators around Humber such as the International Student Centre and culture clubs such as the Filipino Student Association Club and Vietnamese Club who were part of the event.

“We provide the food, items, and space for them and they just promote their programs and services to the students,” Maquera said.

Maquera was in charge of overseeing the Filipino Student Association booth which had a game and a self-care activity.

Students who come into the event signed up at the entrance to fill out a form declaring their attendance at the event. In exchange, the students get a one-time food coupon which can be redeemed at the food station.

The food menu, which was representative of various Asian cultures, included delicacies such as spring rolls, sesame seed balls, onigiri (fried rice balls), dumplings (chicken and vegetarian), and fruity drinks.

The Vietnamese Club booth also had a snack platter which included sesame candy and sunflower seeds.

The Vietnamese Student Association Booth Photo credit: Aswin Nair

The event also had the movie “Mulan” playing on the projector for students who wanted to take a break from socializing to sit and watch the movie while enjoying their food. Other attractions included a lucky raffle and a traditional dress photo corner with a Lunar New Year-themed backdrop.

Photo Corner with Lunar New Year backdrop Photo credit: Aswin Nair

Juliana Villamizar, who studies Bachelor of Commerce and International Business at Lakeshore says that events like these create an environment where students experience each other’s culture and connect. Villamizar is also part of the FYE program and says there is a lot that goes into planning the event.

“We try to coordinate everything to make sure it is in accordance with the culture, but also respectful. It takes some time, but we do make sure everything is culturally aware,” says Villamizar.

The Humber FYE also hosted a Black Heritage Celebration on February 15 and will host an event for International Women’s Day on March 7.