Hosted by the Texas Tech Residence Halls Association, Celebrations Around the World brought together a wide array of international students to build interconnectivity, break misconceptions and strengthen cultural understanding during the holiday season.
Since 2021, the RHA has hosted the annual event to recognize the holiday traditions and cultural occasions of Tech’s international community, aiming to bridge the gap between foreign students and the Lubbock population.
Fourth-year finance major and Lubbock native Elena Alexopoulos, a member of the Mediterranean Student Association, believes this event draws attention to the less-recognized intercultural population on campus.
“I think a lot of people aren’t fully aware of all the cultural diversity at Tech, so I think it’s really great to show people who we are and that we’re here too,” Alexopoulos said.
By hosting this celebration yearly, Alexopoulos believes Celebrations Around the World allows for a more positive and welcoming community for international students, letting them feel more at home in Lubbock as they bring their culture to West Texas.
“Bringing my culture here to Tech makes me really proud,” Alexopoulos said. “Growing up here in Lubbock, I didn’t have a chance to meet many people who shared my culture, but here at Tech I’ve met all kinds of people who share my culture, and that really makes me feel like I belong.”
Various countries flag’s sit on the check in table for Cultural Celebrations outside of the Texas Tech Student Union Building Ballroom Nov. 19, 2025.
Jake Cooper
Second-year microbiology major Doaa Bashir from Midland believes Celebrations Around the World opens a window for misconceptions about international cultures to be resolved and allows for a greater understanding of the foreign community.
Bashir is a member of the Muslim Student Association, a community dedicated to creating a positive environment for Muslim students and encouraging them to embrace their culture on campus.
“Getting to bring my culture here to Lubbock makes me really happy,” Bashir said. “There are lots of people out there who don’t know much about Islam or only know what they’ve heard about the negative rhetoric, so being able to come here and show them how we celebrate and create our community is a really great opportunity.”
She also believes Celebrations Around the World helps connect the Tech community by showing that students are still students regardless of where they come from.
“Everyone is able to see that we’re just like them,” Bashir said. “And showing them how we celebrate our holidays really shows that.”
Jynxi, the K-pop dance group, practices for Cultural Celbrations in the Texas Tech Student Union Building Ballroom Nov. 19, 2025.
Jake Cooper
Third-year nutritional science major Vimbai Mataruka from Dallas is the standing vice president of the RHA’s Belonging and Engagement group, which is a branch of the organization dedicated to supporting an inviting environment for students on campus.
Mataruka believes events like Celebrations Around the World are essential to creating a welcoming campus for international students as they create a space for students of minority backgrounds to interact with one another and engage in their own unique cultural traditions.
“It gives the international community a space for them to see people who come from the same background and to build a community that feels familiar,” Mataruka said. “It gives them a place that feels like a home away from home, and it gives them a place to show their culture.”
In Mataruka’s experience, the holiday season can feel isolating for students of different international backgrounds who may not participate in common American celebrations like Christmas.
For this reason, Mataruka said Celebrations Around the World offers an opportunity for foreign students to be able to celebrate their holiday traditions together.
“For a lot of students who don’t celebrate Christmas, they can feel isolated as a minority,” Mataruka said. “So, it means a lot for those students to be able to see other people of the same background celebrating the holiday season in the same way they do.”