Food, music, dancing, and waving country flags are all aspects you can find at Miami Lakes Educational Center’s (MLEC) annual United Nations celebration. Students come together and bring their cultures along with them––continuing a tradition that has occurred for the past four years.
“We started it in October of 2015. We kind of didn’t know what it was going to be until it happened,” said Vivian Bermudez, MLEC alumna from Class of 2015. “It ended up being quite popular and the walkway was very congested. But everyone was so excited and so happy to be representing their country.”
“I’m super proud that MLEC has kept it and has allowed it to grow. In high school, we can sometimes only exist in the bubbles we know and it’s hard to connect with people outside of it. I know for my year, it was a great way to interconnect a very diverse student body.”
This year, the MLEC student population has only become more diverse as incoming freshmen had the opportunity to participate in their first UN day celebration. Our new fellow jaguars were able to get both a taste and feel for how MLEC shows off its cultural pride.
“The experience was amazing. It was fun seeing different people enjoying our foods and culture. I think it’s important that MLEC continues this tradition because it reminds students that we are all diverse and unique in our own way, and it always helps unify the school,” said Freshman Class President Tatiana Gonzalez on representing Colombia.
For many students though, it was not their first time being able to embrace their own backgrounds among their peers. They are more than familiar with the endless trays of Jamaican curry, the swaying of Colombian dresses to cumbia, and the overcrowding of sweating bodies chanting in the name of their home country.
“Everyone comes together to represent their country, have a great time, enjoy delicious food, and create an atmosphere of no discrimination,” said Samuel Morales, Student Government Association (SGA) president.
When the Cubans have finally finished their tenth round of dominoes, and the Venezuelans and Colombians stop arguing about who makes the best arepas, everyone sprints to the dance floor to listen to the upbeat tempo of Mr. Vernon’s djembe. Students then come face to face with the fact that those 30 minutes of lunch time are soon to be over––and UN day is coming to a close.
Yet, students are left with the blissful feeling of having been able to share every facet of their native roots with the rest of the school.
“This is the day where everyone has the opportunity to show where they are from, express love for their country, and see how that love makes everyone come together for one reason: to demonstrate how we, immigrants, have impacted this country,” added Morales.
