University of Scranton Celebrates International Education Week
International students from Turkey used artifacts, amulets, images, flags and food to inform students from St. Stanislaus Elementary School and Fell Charter about their homeland at The University of Scranton's celebration of International Education Week. Standing are, from left, Fell Charter students Luis Melgar of Simpson and Isaiah McCord of Carbondale; international students from Turkey Harun Gultekin and Erkan Acar; and St. Stanislaus Elementary School students Joshua Bozym and Hannah Makowski, both of Scranton.
International students introduced area elementary school children to the culture of Turkey as part of The University of Scranton's celebration of International Education Week (Nov. 16-20).
Students from St. Stanislaus Elementary School in Scranton and Fell Charter in Carbondale learned about Turkey from Harun Gultekin, a graduate student at The University of Scranton and Ph.D. candidate at Marywood University, and Erkan Acar, a faculty member and Ph.D. candidate at Marywood University. The natives of Turkey used artifacts, amulets, images, flags and food to inform the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students about their homeland.
"I learned that Turkey has many religions and the people live in peace," said Joshua Bozym, a sixth-grade student at St. Stanislaus Elementary School. Bozym also had Turkish Delight for dessert at lunch. "I liked it," said Bozym.
In addition to information, the international students gave each of the children a Blue Glass Nazar Boncugu, or evil eye protection bead, which is an ancient custom meant to protect the bearer against evil. This symbol is commonly worn in jewelry throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East.
International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.
Currently more than 100 international students are studying at The University of Scranton. India, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Korea and China are among the countries represented by undergraduate and graduate students attending the university.
