Oprah Radio show host speaks

The International Services Center and the Global Perspectives Office held its third annual International Breakfast in the Pegasus Ballroom on Monday to kick off International Education Week.

International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. UCF participates in the event through the end of this week.

"We try and get students interested in study abroad programs and other cultural movements at UCF," said Rocky Blesso, cultural programmer at UCF.

Harvard graduate Derrick Ashong, founder of youth-centered cultural movement Take Back the Mic and radio show host on Sirius XM's Oprah Radio, "The Derrick Ashong Experience," told a packed audience in the Pegasus Ballroom how important cultural diversity is in today's society.

"I've grown up with a very international experience. I was born in Ghana …, I moved about every four years until I was 20," Ashong said. "I've always thought when opportunity presents itself for you to see the world, the concurrence, phenomenally, is that the world begins to see you."

Ashong said he is often told people can not relate to his speech, and that he has been told he spoke either too educated or too urban, a fact he relates to the limited cultural diversity people are exposed to.

"I guess that's what happens when you come from the flatlands and end up at Harvard," Ashong said with a laugh. "But this is why we need to find a way to see the world beyond our borders."

Ashong, who is a member of the internationally recognized Next Generation Leadership Forum and a board member of the Interra Project, was asked by audience members about the numerous organizations he's involved with, and what drives him to promote these events.

"What I do is think of simple ways that you can get people to talk, to talk to each other, to amplify their voices, and one of the ways to do this is through popular culture," Ashong said.

Ashong's radio show does just this through its global community that focuses on the arts, society, business and politics, as well as informs and elevates the national dialogue that often revolve around global trends and issues.

In closing, Ashong left the audience with words he said he has always lived by.

"Whatever made you, wherever you came from, keep that," Ashong said. "It will never hurt you to gain from a new culture while allowing others to gain from you. It enhances our society."

Along with his speech, there were special performances by the Indian Student Association, the Iranian Student Organization, and the Colombian Student Association. Each group participated in a cultural dance in their full, traditional, ethnic attire.

Senior Pranav Garg, a representative from the Indian Student Association, spoke of the importance of the event.

"People who were born and raised in the Americas need to know about other countries. One of the five creeds of UCF is diversity; by hosting this breakfast, we are showcasing that creed to faculty and students," he said.

Vignesh Saravanaperumal, also part of the Indian Student Association and a graduate student at UCF working on his masters in computer engineering, said he was proud to be a part of the breakfast and considered it a very important event at UCF.

Along with the International Breakfast, UCF is also hosting several events for International Education Week, including a Study Abroad Fair, an Indian Culture Night, and a World Desserts Night.

For more information on UCF's International Education Week, visit www.internationaleducationweek.ucf.edu.