From across the globe, two groups of students came together to celebrate the spirit of the season.
“We brought together the Master in Management (MiM) students from Philadelphia and students from the Temple University Japan (TUJ) campus on Zoom to share stories and traditions about their families and the holidays,” says Carly Gellman, associate director of Global Executive (EMBA) Programs at the Fox School. “And most importantly, it was an opportunity for them to meet one another and learn more about cross-cultural literacy.”
The event kicked off with members of the Fox School and Temple staff including Gellman and Chris Lind from the Fox School and Mariko Cook from TUJ, sharing their holiday traditions.
A slide presenting a students holiday traditions
Gellman’s household was filled with latkes, jelly donuts, menorah lighting and dreidels for Hanukkah. Lind explained making pizzelles and how the smell of anise oil filled the air, and Cook described New Year’s celebrations in Okinawa—eating Okinawa soba and Hatsumode, which includes visiting a shrine (or temple) to pray for good luck for the new year.
Students like Kristen Buckley, a Scranton, Pa. native, shared their cultural practices and traditions. For Buckley, that includes the breaking and sharing of Oplatki wafers, or “angel bread,” which symbolizes unity in Polish culture.
Christopher Sim Mong Shen, a TUJ MiM student and a born and raised Singaporean, shared his tradition of sharing hot pot and popiah, Fujianese/Teochew-style spring rolls, with family during the holiday.
In addition to staff and students sharing memories of home, graduate students shared what they hope to achieve during and after their time in the MiM program.
For example, Buckley, a neuroscience undergraduate alumna, is gaining a base of knowledge in business, increasing her leadership skills and adaptability in the workplace. These skills will help her future career goals of conducting neuroscience and neurodegenerative disease research.
Shen plans to become a planner/producer, currently working on expanding his business knowledge and management skills. He enjoys the level of exposure to different industries and networks he is experiencing within the program.