Students from International Club create a mural on the white board for all the things they are thankful for. For students who have just moved to the US, like sophomore Camila Hernandez, this event has shown them what the holiday is all about. “I’m from Colombia; it’s my first Thanksgiving. [This event] makes me know how they celebrate because I don’t know anything about [Thanksgiving],” Hernandez said.

Several classic Thanksgiving dishes are being served to students. For sophomore Nuril Rahman, this was his very first exposure to the holiday after arriving to the US recently. “Thank you for all the food and Thanksgiving today,” Rahman said.

Andrew Won, head of the ESOL department, talks to some of his students while eating lunch from the event. Due to promoting International Club’s event, several ESOL students came out to experience Thanksgiving for the first time in the US. “I feel like there is kind of a special mission or mandate to make sure that our students have a good experience here in America…[there are] students who will be here for one or two years and will return to their country… so I hope they have a good experience here and that when they go back to their country, they’re really able to kind of talk about this time as a wonderful experience, that they bring these good memories and that they had an opportunity to just hang out and learn English,” Won said.

Junior Noah Carrasco gathers Thanksgiving food to put on his plate during the event. “I think it’s great for these kids that aren’t as familiar with American culture, to learn about it, because this is something that I cherish a lot. [Thanksgiving] is my favorite holiday,” Carrasco said.

Students celebrate together at the International Club’s Thanksgiving event. “It’s amazing. The food is so good. [Celebrating at school] is so great. The environment, people talking and conversing,” junior Kabir Singh said.

Seniors Saima Waziri and Renelyn Sabangan enjoy the International Club Thanksgiving lunch. “It’s very good, so people from other countries can experience American culture, be more involved and not be alone and be together,” Waziri said.