International Night is a vibrant celebration of diverse cultures, delicious food, and community spirit. With an array of performances and cultural displays, it’s a night that brings students together while simultaneously encouraging them to connect more deeply with their roots.
International Night was brought back to North by Abigail Koshy and Aayna Sharma (Co-Founders & Co-Presidents) in 2023. When asked in an interview, how did International Night come back to north, Aayna replied “it originally started in the student equity team, where Abby and I brought up International Night to Mr. Stoll and Ms. Dunn, who then reached out to Ms.Watt. She organized a similar event prior to Covid, and then developed it from there.”
This year at North there were 8 student-led performances that highlighted the rich diversity within our school. We first had the Mugen Taiko Drum Team, Rampagers Step Squad, Tinikling, two Bollywood Dances, a Filipino Song, a French song, and a Ukrainian dance. Each reflected hard work, talent, and the vibrant cultures of our students. As the audience cheered on every performance, it served as a reminder, and highlighted the strength of our community as we came together to celebrate our differences.
When asked what inspired them to bring back International Night at North, in an interview with Abby and Aayna, Abby replied, “I wanted to see better representation of diversity at north. North already has its mindful Mondays and heritage months, but we wanted to celebrate diversity and teach it in a more engaging way.” Aayna said, “I saw that it could connect people in a larger way.” Not only do performances bring everyone together, but so do the cultural tables and delicious food.
There were 18 different cultural tables including from Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, the Jewish Culture, Israel, Haiti, France, India, American Sign Language, Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, The Philippines, El Salvador, South Korea, Palestine, the Dominican Republic, and Italy. Each of these tables included a poster board about their culture, and fun activities/foods to try. They were all so engaging and interactive. It felt as though each table was like entering a different country.
When asked what was the most rewarding part of organizing the event, Aayna replied, “I would say the most rewarding part would be seeing how the school community came together, and everyone embracing their own cultures.” Abby added, “The most rewarding part would be when you have people come up to you saying how amazing the event was, especially when underclassmen come up to you, and tell you how it helped them love their cultures more. Also, receiving emails from charities saying how grateful they are for our donations, and how much they have helped their organizations!”
This year, International Night raised $2,500. All the proceeds were split between two different charities, LA Wildfires International Relief Teams and People to People. People to People help 5,000 Rockland residents put food on the table every month, including families, seniors, and veterans. LA Wildfires International Relief Teams is a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to relieving human suffering by providing critical aid/emergency supplies such as food, water, health kits, medicine, and other resources.
When asked what were some of the biggest challenges in planning the evening, Abby replied, “the first year it was definitely getting the school’s support, and going to all of the restaurants and asking for donations cold.” As co-vice president this year, I can definitely attest to the fact that going to restaurants was challenging, as many restaurants often ignored our requests. Fortunately, we had 20 restaurants who were kind enough to donate, including Kumo, Pakula’s Pizza, Tulsi, Nicky’s, Sangria’s, Don Chicken, and more. On International Night, food was served from a wide variety of cultures.
International Night ’25 was a great success, and sadly, Aayna and Abby will be leaving us. However, make sure to tune in next year for another great night of engaging North’s community with a variety of beautifully diverse cultures.