¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University has been recognized for its ethnic and cultural diversity, achieving the distinction of being the most diverse university in the nation for the third consecutive year, according to . Because of this diversity, numerous cultural clubs have been formed to honor the heritage of the student community. Among these clubs is the African Student Association (ASA), with its vice president, George Utuk (junior, computer engineering), helping lead the charge.
George is in his second year with ASA, having joined during the 2023-2024 academic year, and has been enjoying his experience with the club. He is a very outgoing individual but felt a longing for companionship with others in the African community, especially since it was not the easiest to make friends.
As he put it, “Even in my major, people that started getting to know themselves already made friends. By the time I came, I was just doing things on my own, and … I thought I was fine. But longing for more started to have negative effects, and I knew, ‘OK, I have to go get a community.’”
This prompted George to look for other students of African descent, and it was this deep connection that led to his joining of ASA. This week, he sat down with the Student Movement to talk about his role and goals within ASA.
What is your role in ASA?
Last year, I was the social vice president for ASA and a lot of what I did, of course, other than being in charge of organizing the events that [took] place, was outreach. Like, going to talk with different people. African and non-African, but of course, mainly African, and I would spot them. So, I just go, and I talk to them. … I ask them, “Are you a part of the African club? I invite them, and the social events we have lead to lots of different things, catching up and personally, because when you’re coming from Africa to North America—a place you don’t know—it’s usually easy to get really lost. As the social vice president at first, I helped people find the community here. This year I’m the executive vice president, so I do a similar thing but in a different position.
Are there any changes in your new position?
Just a few different responsibilities, but my ideology is still the same: to reach out to the African community as much as possible and to display and exhibit the beauty of being African to the whole campus population.
Do you have any upcoming plans with the African Student Association?
Some people have doubts regarding the events, right? Because last year we didn’t really do events, most of it was planning. But this year, we’re looking at doing a couple of cultural get-togethers. We’re planning to do a vespers and hopefully looking at organizing a banquet this year.
What is part of the vision of ASA?
To be seen on campus and felt. We’ll be in AUnited and working with other clubs. But we’re trying to make an impact on campus. And from there, we see where we can go.
Any final words?
For me personally, I think you should—and this sounds very stereotypical—but live, laugh, love. Yeah, it’s a really funny thing to say, but it’s more difficult. Everything is more difficult, like school is already difficult but everything gets more difficult if you’re not trying to find that happiness and things, right? So, that’s something I always look to do, no matter what my situation. Try to build a community, try to find people you can have some nice time with. You can live your life, laugh and love.
To learn more about ASA, keep up with events and connect with their club officers, .
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.