Students gather to explore varietal traditions

Liberty University and local Lynchburg churches and school clubs welcomed international students and missionary kids at the Worldwide Welcome event in the Alumni Ballroom on Friday, Aug. 25. This was the second event to greet students from abroad.

“We have a welcome dinner prior to the first week of classes for new international students, and in some ways, the Worldwide Welcome is an extension of this, but it is less formal,” Dr. Kenny Warren, director of the International Student Center, said.

To start the program, five students said “hello” in their native language. Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Greg Dowell provided the opening prayer, then introduced Dr. Mark Hine, who welcomed students and encouraged them with Scripture. VP Dowell then welcomed Provost  Dr. Scott Hicks, who also shared from Scripture and prayed for the international students.

In the Alumni Ballroom, students enjoyed games, music and American-style food like hot dogs, burgers, chips, salad, cookies and brownies.

Around the room, tables representing different churches waited to show students how they could get involved, including 701 Korean Church, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Family Life Church, God’s Covenant Love and Thomas Road Baptist Church en Español. In addition, associations such as Africa Connect, Korean Students, Caribbean Students and Chinese Christian Students set up kiosks to connect
with students.

Liberty’s Hispanic praise band Libertad performed first and lead worship in both Spanish and English.

“I’m from the Dominican Republic, so I speak Spanish,” said sophomore Julie Marie Vicente Arias. “It was really nice singing in Spanish finally. I really enjoyed that because we don’t get much worship in Spanish.”

Pololo, a Chilean-American band of former and current Liberty students, also performed. Students danced along to the upbeat music and recorded the band. LU Praise, a worship group made up of multi-ethnic musicians, wrapped up the end of the worship music. 

Liberty offices including LU Shepherd, the Office of Disability Accommodation Support, Health and Wellness, Residence Life and more had representatives present to inform students of the services each provides. Students could also learn about organizations like Campus Outreach, Outliers International Ministries and International Recruitment. 

International students participated in a trivia Kahoot, hair wrapping, face painting and guessing games at the event. One of the guessing games had students guess the names of certain foreign candies. 

This was the first year that the event was held in the Alumni Ballroom, having been formerly held on the Academic Lawn. The International Student Center expected around 500 students to attend this event based on past attendance, according
to Warren.

“It’s something that the university has done historically, and so the international students look forward to it,” Warren said. 

The International Student Center will host Global Partner Student meet-and-greet Sept. 19 at the Starbucks Lounge, and later in the month it will present Global Focus Week, featuring the Taste of Nations.

Joachim is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X