Go Global Draws College Connections Students

Go Global Draws College Connections Students
Monday, December 14, 2020

Several high school students learned more about the world during a Go Global International Education Day event at JCC in December.

Prior to participating in a celebration of world cultures presented by JCC’s international students that featured music, food, and activities, College Connections students from the Brocton, Panama, and Randolph school districts explored global issues. Several of JCC’s international students also engaged College Connections participants during a panel discussion.

During a Global Voices panel discussion moderated by JCC Spanish professor Theresa Baginski, refugees who fled their home countries and are now living in western New York were featured. Shree Siwakoti, a refugee from Bhutan, Steven Sanyu, president of Burmese Community Services, Inc. in Buffalo and a refugee from Burma, and Raquel Acevedo, a nursing student at JCC’s Cattaraugus County Campus who fled Venezuela, described their experiences.

The event also featured a performance of Venezuelan music by Raquel Acevedo, her husband Daniel Escriban, and family friend David Peralta and a workshop by Melanie Smith about plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.