USF’s diversity offers connection beyond the classroom

USF’s diversity creates opportunity, but connection requires effort. ORACLE PHOTO/THOMAS MARRS

I chose to attend USF largely because of its diversity. I knew I wanted to be around students from all over the world.

I knew that I wanted to learn from their story and share my own with them. USF seemed the obvious place to do so.

USF’s campuses are incredibly diverse, with 11,569 Hispanic students, 4,229 Asian students, 4,070 African American students and 60 Pacific Islander students, according to the 2025-26 USF Pocket Fact Book.

Each of these students represents a different culture and worldview. They sit in the same classrooms and attend the same events, yet carry very different stories.

Amelia Blumer, a junior business management major, is an American but spent most of her childhood in Tunisia, where her parents were missionaries.

Because she is not ethnically Tunisian, Blumer said it can be hard for her to feel fully part of one culture. But she said USF is a place where she can meet other students who come from complex cultural backgrounds.

“I think there are so many opportunities to get outside one’s comfort zone and experience a different culture,” Blumer said. “For example, going to a Diwali festival at the Marshall Student Center or an event during Ramadan that are open to everyone”.

One of the ways that USF allows students to connect across differences is through countless events hosted by student organizations on campus.

This month, for example, the Asian American and Pacific Islander Association is hosting a basket weaving event, the German Culture Club is hosting a Spring festival and the Caribbean Cultural Exchange is hosting a banquet.

Students don’t just bring their cultures to USF — they actively shape a new sense of belonging on campus.

“We are all shaped by the places we move to or away from, and it’s in fact more beautiful to have the privilege of saying I have many places to call home,” Blumer said. “There are so many pockets in and around USF to feel like that.”

USF is a very unique kind of “home,” one where many languages are spoken and various traditions are celebrated.

For Lynden Clarke, a junior political science major, much of what there is to learn from culture is revealed in how cultures interact.

“As someone who is Chinese-Jamaican, I’ve grown up at the intersection of multiple cultures, which has shaped not only my perspective but how I connect with others,” Clarke said.

Student experiences show that being surrounded by differences doesn’t guarantee understanding of different worldviews. Real connection happens through more personal moments like shared meals, group projects and conversations.

“Sharing foods from my culture like oxtail, jerk chicken and curry chicken with my friends has become more than just introducing them to new flavors,” Clarke said. “In these moments, cultural exchange happens naturally, opening up conversations, breaking down assumptions and creating space for appreciation.”

USF provides a unique space for this cultural exchange, giving students the opportunity to interact with people they would not otherwise encounter.

Guetty Gonzalez, a senior political science major, was born in Cuba and raised in Miami.

But Gonzalez said moving to Tampa and enrolling at USF allowed her to make meaningful friendships with people from all over the world.

“Growing up, I was surrounded by mostly, if not all, Hispanics,” Gonzalez said. “USF is actually where I really started to get to know people from different backgrounds for the first time in my life.”

For some students, culture is shared through food and traditions. For others, it is embedded in how they act in their day-to-day life — ingrained in every aspect of who they are.

Gonzalez said that she has shared her culture and background with every single person she has met at USF, often unintentionally.

“I carry my culture in how I speak, act and even in my conversation topics,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like I always have an anecdote from back home, or my accent will come out here and there.”

Intercultural friendships on campus reveal not only important differences but also surprising similarities. Students from completely different cultures often discover that they have a lot in common.

These similarities open our eyes to something very human — that we are all, at our core, more alike than we assume.

“These interactions were meaningful because, despite very different cultures, we were very similar,” Gonzalez said. “It taught me that you never really know who you may get along with until you get to know them. You can come from polar opposite backgrounds and get along instantly.”

Blumer said her interactions with students from other cultures shape her perspective on the world.

“At USF, I’ve learned to honor people’s traditions and understand their mentality better by the way they were raised,” Blumer said. “Each of those traditions or mindsets challenges my Western view.”

Culture is complex and deeply personal. It shows up in food, traditions, language, values and everyday interactions.

At USF, students are uniquely surrounded by difference — but understanding requires more than proximity. It requires curiosity, effort and a willingness to engage.

To make the most of the learning experience that USF offers, it is important that students seek out opportunities to learn not only in class but from each other.

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