A journey home

By Lindsay Robinson | Echo

As the Taylor community prepares to embark on a trip around the world from the comfort of their Rediger Chapel seats, Mosaic Night participants are preparing to share a piece of their hearts. After long hours of practicing and planning, they experience momentarily connecting the audience with sounds, colors and smells that remind each performer of a place he or she calls home.

"This isn't just a talent show so to speak," explained junior Cory Chea, co-president of MESA. "It's a whole experience from faculty and students cooking their own home dishes to seeing the performers on stage."

MESA's co-presidents, Chea and junior Casey Chang, are in charge of this year's Mosaic Night. The event will kick off with the Global Market, which showcases food from around the world, giving the MESA students and faculty the chance to share a taste of their culture with the Taylor community. After dinner, the show begins.

"It takes a lot to be on that stage in front of thousands of people and to share a part of your life," Chang said.

Chang participated in last year's Mosaic Night. As an American ethnic student, she was able to identify with her roots throughout the night. She explained that many students at Taylor feel the same way and participate in Mosaic Night to feel close to a culture that is now an integral part of their identity for one reason or another.

"There are students who have studied abroad in Ecuador who are involved," Chang explained. "It's really cool to see different people coming together and also being able to see what the culture that they are representing means to them. It's so individualized to each person on stage."

For Cecilia Macias, Director of Intercultural Programs, watching the students perform a piece of their identity is emotional.

"They come here and they're getting their education and doing all these things to succeed," Macias said. "But there's this one time where they are able to do dances to the music and style they would have back at home. . . . You feel that sense of pride."

The pride that each performer has for their culture can clearly be felt through the rhythms, movements and languages that impact the audience.

"I've heard responses in past years from Mosaic Night like culture shock and I like that," Chang said. "I love that people can experience that here."

According to Macias, the show's ability to transcend cultural barriers has transformed what started out as a small MESA performance to an all-campus, must-see event. Now the night is as much for the performers as it is for the students who attend.

"I think through the performance, so much is conveyed about a culture that can't be conveyed through conversation," Chea said. "I know when I first came to Taylor people would say, 'What's it like to be from the Bahamas?' and I don't know how to answer that in sentences. But there's an act that's from the Caribbean and you get to actually feel the rhythms of what it's like to live in that kind of area. You get to see the colors and costumes. There's just so much that you get to see about the people on stage without actual words-and that's very powerful."

Mosaic Night not only provides an opportunity for Taylor students to visit cultures from around the world, but it also provides an avenue for students to share part of their life story.

"I hope that we realize that value of cultural diversity and how wonderful it is to partake in that as a campus," Macias said. "That's our hope for Mosaic Night."

It is a hope fueled by the dedication of the faculty and students who look to share their traditions in a way that brings life to the meaning of cultural identity.

Mosaic Night will take place Saturday, May 3, at 8 p.m. in Rediger Auditorium. The Global Market starts at 6:30 p.m. in the downstairs lobby of the Rediger.