“Victory at last!” exclaimed Nyla Reath, president of AVID Leadership and a four-year AVID member, as she finally gets the rice cooker to work. As she and other members of AVID Leadership made the final touches on the decorations of the AVID dinner, the moment everyone had been waiting for had finally come: the food.

As the food was being set out, everyone’s senses were going haywire. The smell of the food overwhelmed the room, leaving the scent of baasto (Somali pasta) and curry in the air. Finally, all the food had been set out and the dinner was ready to begin.

The AVID program at AVHS hosted a dinner on January 21st, celebrating all the different cultures at our school. Students in the program brought food native to their culture for the teachers to enjoy as a fundraiser (which raised over $600).

An extensive variety of delicious entrees were brought to the dinner, each signifying the culture from where the student came from. Among those were tiramisu from the Mohamuds, samosas from the Muses, chocoflan from the Valdez-Correas, and many more.

Mrs.Kuhn, AVID’s director at Apple Valley, gave some insight on the background of the dinner. “Well, part of the motivation I think was brought up by students that there needs to be some kind of atmosphere within the school that is bringing together the different families that are represented both by teachers and amongst students, and how dinner is kind of what brings us together as families. This [AVID dinner] is a way to bring people together.”

All types of food are different and the same goes for people. Like the many foods at the AVID dinner, there are many cultures at AVHS.  A few students and staff  wanted to celebrate the diversity at AVHS and agreed to talk about why they love going to a diverse school.

Freshman Kristal Cortez-Omana said, “I feel like going to a diverse school is a very fun for anyone to experience and does affect people in different ways. For example meeting new people who you wouldn’t think you’d be friends with. So that’s always fun. I also do feel more comfortable being in diverse school due to the fact that I am able to express myself more freely.”

Another person who was eager to express their appreciation was U.S History teacher Mr. Casperson. He said, “I think it’s made the school more interesting and challenging to work in. In that there are more viewpoints and more background. There’s more varied beliefs, whether they be religious, social, or be perspectives on the importance on education.”

The diversity at our school is vast and deserves more recognition. Two things that food and diversity have in common is that they both bring people together. Like all our favorite foods, recognition should be displayed for the diversity at our school. I propose that we at AVHS have a cultural foods night. Students in all grades would bring food prevalent to their culture and as a school we would all have a dinner.

Even if that idea doesn’t pass, it could still be food for thought.