International students attending Davis & Elkins College sparked some new interests among youth at Beverly Elementary School with presentations about their home countries and their experiences in athletics.
Beverly Elementary School extended the invitation to D&E students to visit during the school’s Red Ribbon Week to coincide with the theme “Wise Choices Take You Places!” D&E Director of International Student Services Lowe Del Aviles collaborated with the College’s coaches to organize activities for grades pre-K through five.
“This is an example of how we want to expand community involvement for our students,” Aviles said. “It was a very good feeling to see the look of fascination on the students’ faces when they heard about the different countries and their cultures.”
Each day Aviles and the international students presented a slide show with pictures of scenery, food and cultural events from various countries. The students took questions from the youth and taught them how to say “hello” and “thank you” in their native languages. The student-athletes brought along some of their gear and offered hands-on exercises in their sports.
“Many of our young students haven’t visited places outside of West Virginia, so seeing the maps and pictures and talking to the students from all over the world was really interesting to them,” said BES School Counselor Kara Parrack. “They talked about the food and sports for days later. They want to try everything.”
Parrack, an alumna of D&E, also serves as an adjunct faculty member in psychology at her alma mater.
Davis & Elkins College students participating were Lewis Beeden, England; Monica Birkelund, Denmark; Clara Caralt, Spain; Daniel Cerezo, Spain; Mohamed Chabaane, Tunisia; Vadim Clanet, France; Jack Coleman, England; Matin Eisa, England; Beltran Fernandez, Spain; Abril Gerenschtein, Argentina; Michelle Guerra, Vebezuela; Jack Harlen-Robertson, Australia; Eloise Hutton, Canada; Jordan Hyland, Ireland; Cooper Jackson, Canada; Sierra Knowlton, United States; Tyler Kolodka, Canada; Martin Lago, Spain; Evan Lewis, England; Zach Lontayao, Canada; Sean McAufield, Ireland; Evan Merlo, Canada; Nolan Morrison, Canada; Paulina Narváez, Mexico; Samuel Rached, Panama; Catalina Salas, Costa Rica; Lucrezia Speranza, Italy; Madelyn St. Mary, United States; Andrea Stanziola, Panama; Rut Tallon, Spain; Tre Turner, United States; Leonardo Turra, Italy; Madeline Veser, Germany; Ryan Wickham, Australia; Kenshiro Yamaguchi, Japan; and Haruki Yamazaki, Japan.
Students at Beverly Elementary School enjoyed learning about different cultures and the game of golf from members of the Davis & Elkins College men’s and women’s golf teams.
The Davis & Elkins College men’s and women’s lacrosse teams demonstrated their sport and shared some facts about the home countries and cultures with students at Beverly Elementary School.
