Winter Get Together Offers Students a Chance to Celebrate on Campus

Games, a hot meal, and opportunities to make new friends were offered through the event

Students at the Winter Get-Together were welcomed with festive decorations and the opportunity to get to know each other. (Lesley Salazar)

The Winter Get Together at KPU Surrey brought students together to eat, drink, and be merry on Dec. 4.

It started off with two games. The first was an icebreaker called “Find Out Who”, and the second was a team-based competition for who could most beautifully decorate one of their fellow students using materials like Santa hats, bows, and Christmas lights. The winners were awarded gift bags and other festive prizes.

A hot lunch—complete with a mixed salad, steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and turkey slices—was also served along with cold drinks and hot chocolate. Afterward the meal, the event concluded with even more games.

“The Winter Get Together [was the] last event of the year and usually we offer it around this time because we understand that many of our international students come from other countries and, no matter their religion, usually they have some holiday activity planned for this month of the year,” says KPU International Student Life Coordinator Waheed Taiwo.

He explains that, while there are many programs and services offered to international students “to make sure that they are able to cope with their academic and non-academic life at KPU,” the winter get-together provides them with an “an opportunity to make new friends and also spend time with their current friends.”

The event also provides a non-denominational space for students of various backgrounds and religious beliefs to celebrate the winter season.

“As for my team, the international student life team, we offer lots of events and activities that support their social and emotional needs,” says Taiwo. “In addition to the events, we also have volunteer programs. We offer peer-support programs as well, in addition to some workshops, [and] games that we do feel bring students closer to other students on campus.”

In the beginning of the new year, Taiwo says the team will be taking students to participate in Fly Over Canada. They’ll also be visiting the Tulip festival in Chilliwack in the spring, and in the summer they’ll be going to Playland. Taiwo encourages students who are interested in these outings to check the website because, “every month of the year, [they have] events and activities that are suitable to that period.”