The Global Welcome Party is a free annual event at Aggie Park with live performances, food, games and campus resources. The event is planned by the Texas A&M Department of Global Engagement and aims to reach international students, but is available to any student,  Bryan-College Station community member or anyone else who is interested in learning about various cultures.

In April, the Department of Global Engagement began working on planning the festivities. Different campus organizations and departments for student resources, such as Education Abroad and Visit College Station, came together to help make the Global Welcome Party possible. There were tables set up all around the park, spanning from university resources to campus transportation services.

Program Coordinator for International Student and Scholar Services, Maria Khmelenko, creates programs for international scholars and families. She was in charge of logistical planning for the Global Welcome Party.

“We want to bring people together, the local community,” Khmelenko said. “All of these vendors are local. So, there is a resource fair, community resources, university resources, and student orgs. We have more than 15 represented here.”

There were plenty of booths at the Global Welcome Party this year for the organizations to get information about their programs to students. Under the Department of Global Engagement, Education Abroad was present at the event in order to present information to A&M students looking to study abroad. Christie Dunn, P.h.D, a volunteer for the event and the associate director for Education Abroad, said there was a great turnout at their table.

“We’re specifically here to promote education abroad… for students who may go away,” Dunn said. “We try to expose all the new international students to our services, and anyone who may come along, to the possibilities of studying abroad.”

Students did notice how this year’s event built on past editions, , according to Hispanic studies graduate student Carelle Matawe. The Global Welcome Party sold out their 4,000 tickets, added more tables and had a T-shirt cannon to shoot from the stage. 

“I didn’t like it last year, so I wanted to see if it would be different,” Matawe said. “I already see that it’s very different. Last year, I think they didn’t have a lot of stands, there were not a lot of things going on.”

Another improvement from last year was inviting Aggieland Pets with a Purpose, a non-profit volunteer organization that works with therapy dogs. Dogs are known to improve mental wellbeing, and it is helpful for college students who are away from their pets at home to see a dog on campus. Jacob Miller ‘18 is the treasurer of Aggieland Pets with a Purpose, and he attended the event with his dog, Stella.

“We love seeing the people come up and they see the dogs, and a lot of times they make eye contact with the dogs, and the dogs get excited,” Miller said. “…For that moment it’s almost like they’re kids again. They can just pet the dogs. You see the stress visibly exit them, they relax and you see the therapy dogs at work.”

In addition to therapy dogs, there were also performers at the Global Welcome Party, spanning from Chinese dancers who did a kpop dance style to Aggieland Mariachi. The Singing Cadets also made an appearance and sang the Aggie War Hymn.

“I think we sounded really good,” landscape architecture junior and three-year member of the Singing Cadets Beau Kabell said. “I love the group because we get to do stuff like this. I probably wouldn’t normally be here but I’m here now, and I get to sing for everyone, show our spirit, and I just love singing.”