Office of International Education recently developed a new initiative to bring multicultural awareness to local schools. On March 24, International students visited Briarcliff Elementary School in Shoreham-Wading River as part of a new initiative to bring multicultural awareness to local schools.

Samprada Shrestha from Nepal, Elphas Kimutai from Kenya, Viviene Williamson from Jamaica, and Abishek Dileep Kumar from India visited Ms. Deborah Sullivan’s Briarcliff Elementary School kindergarten class in Shoreham-Wading River. The students, some wearing cultural dress, joined together with the kindergarten children in order to celebrate diversity and cultural awareness through song, storytelling, and poetry.

The kindergarten children prepared for the visit by creating “passports”. Our four NYIT international students’ names and countries were written on each page of the “passport”. Stickers were stamped showing the country that each kindergartener ‘visited’.  

The children responded enthusiastically, with curiosity and were thoroughly engaged in the exchange.

It was truly a joyful experience for all involved.