Story by Martina Devetak, Reporter
Photo courtesy Pexels.com

Looking for something fun to do on a Wednesday afternoon? 

Nisha Van Laar (Coordinator of ESL & Global Student Services), with the help of AQ global students, CORE, the Advantage Center and the Multicultural Club, organized a Global Field Day which will take place on November 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Sturrus!

This kind of event has never been organized on our campus before, and when asked what inspired the idea, Van Laar said that it “came out of fond memories of field day in elementary school. I’m not a particularly athletic person yet I always had a blast participating in games like the potato sack race and Tug of War. This year we have a lot of global athletes! So, I thought it would be nice to have an event where they could showcase the games from their countries with the campus community.” 

You don’t have to be an athlete to participate in any of the games. Nisha made sure that everyone can be a part of the event. “There are games that require no skill whatsoever! There are also some accessible games like card games and board games,” says Van Laar.

You can expect to see a wide variety of games including lawn games, team sports, demos, and board games. From Kubb to Koekhappen this field day is going to have a lot of opportunities for students to engage with different cultures. 

Not sure that you’re going to how to play a game? Maybe you’ve never even heard of some of them?  That’s totally fine! There will be people at each of the different games explaining how to play them. Some will even have printed instructions as well. Van Laar says, “The main goal of the event is to have fun while learning more about some of the traditions of our global students on campus.”

There will also be free pizza and a variety of international snacks, so you will get to experience the food culture as well.

Come experience it yourself! There is also an opportunity to volunteer. If you’re interested in helping, feel free to reach out to Van Laar at nav001@aquinas.edu. If you just want to play, then show up ready to have fun!