Our annual International Dinner took place on Sunday, 11 August. We were treated to delicious food, entertaining performances, and fascinating guests.
With Members from 26 different countries by birth, St Margaret's has a strong international diversity that we are very proud of. To celebrate this, we hosted our International Formal Dinner on Sunday evening.
We were lucky enough to be joined by a number of guests from the university community:
- Professor Robin Gauld: Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Otago Business School
- Ina Bercinskas: Teacher of ESOL, English, and Drama at Colombo College
- Professor Jessica Palmer: Dean of Otago's Faculty of Law
- Professor David Fielding: Professor of Economics at the Otago Business School
- Rev Joanna Fielding: Anglican Church Minister, Otago Peninsula
We were also joined by a delegation from Shenzhen Polytechnic, China, who have been at the College over the past two weeks while working with Otago Polytechnic.
Our talented kitchen staff created a delicious feast of dishes from all over the world.
Members were encouraged to wear their cultural garments to the dinner and it was great to see that many did. Over announcements, students who spoke a non-English language stood up and greeted the College in their home language.
Instead of our typical musical performances, the College's Arts Rep, Tessa Dalgety-Evans, organised two wonderful dances. The first was a Samoan Siva performed by our Māori and Pasifika group. The second was an Indian dance performed by Abida Denny and Priya Patel, both of whom are College Leaders at St Margaret's. Both performances were fantastic and very entertaining.
Our guests from Shenzhen Polytechnic also sung a song from China for the College. This was a very special and heartwarming gesture that was deeply appreciated by all who attended.
The evening finished with a Question and Answer session held in the Valentine Common Room. Our guests told the stories of their careers and provided Members with some invaluable advice.
(Story by the Dean of Students, George Connolly)
