Saturday, November 22nd marked the final event for International Education Week (IEW) 2025, sponsored by the Fries Center for Global Studies (FCGS), rounding out the week to include just about 40 events! Students, alumni, staff, and faculty alike hosted events to celebrate the various cultures and languages that make up Wesleyan’s diverse community.

From events like “Dress Desi,” where participants could try on traditional Indian fashion, to a lecture discussing Nüshu, a disappearing women-only script from China, to a Siberian film screening with dumplings, the campus was chalk-full of Wesleyan community members learning more about the people around them, and the world around them. In difficult times, it is all the more important to expand your worldview, and there is no better way to do that than to listen to the stories that those around have to tell.

While IEW offers explicit opportunities for Wesleyan to foster story-telling and intercultural connection, we can and should continue to learn throughout the year– make an effort to attend events across the campus, engage in your coursework, and moreover, connect with those around you at Wes with different perspectives and backgrounds than you.

Keep an ear out for announcements for Power of Language Week (POL), an opportunity in the spring semester to learn more about the languages spoken on campus and across the world. This year’s POL will take place February 19-28th.