Each semester BYU–Hawaii celebrates diversity and culture at the tri-annual WorldFest. The event has more than 40 cultural, academic and special interest clubs for students to sign up for and participate in throughout the year. Each club or cultural chapter is given a space to decorate and represent the goals and plans for the group. WorldFest gives students the opportunity to expand their social circles by interacting and learning with students from a number of cultures and backgrounds.
The majority of the clubs participating at summer semester WorldFest were BYU–Hawaii’s Student Alumni Chapters. Nowah Afangbedji, a freshman from Togo (West Africa), studying pre-professional biology, represented the African Student Alumni Chapter at WorldFest. “Our goal is to meet more regularly, we want to share our culture, and better our current community,” he said. “As much as we love to have fun and celebrate our culture, we also strive to help those in need.”
The Scuba Diving Club, one of several special interest clubs, has been around since 1986 and consistently has 20-30 members each year. Matt Giles, a junior from California, studying ICS, shared his passion for being involved in clubs and chapters at BYU–Hawaii. “We are surrounded by some of the best diving in the world,” he said. “I love being a member of the Diving Club.”
All cultural, academic and special interest clubs are open for anyone to join; there is no requirement or prerequisite to participate and learn. “I find the opportunity to be part of the numerous clubs and chapters on campus very rewarding,” said Abby Brammer, an English major from New York. “The activities and cultural experiences available here on campus are astounding. It’s not every day a suburban New Yorker learns the hula.”