Culture Fair at Waverly Elementary School: A Reading Week Experience

Image credits: @anigmb

I have a confession to make: I only applied for the Centre for Community Engaged Learning's volunteer program for the Reading Week because I was bored & wanted to explore the local scene more. This feeling persisted in me through the month, all the way into early February when it was time to meet with the program leaders and other volunteers to discuss the event. But leaving the orientation session, I was bubbling with ideas and excitement. We were going to set up a culture fair, bringing traditions, art, and exposure from various corners of the world and share our collective learning with kids as little as 4!

The week of the fair rolled around, and the excitement in the room was through the roof! It was 3 days of running the programs with children from across grades, engaging with them, answering questions & having fun. I wouldn't go as far as to say we taught them all about tea, clothes, and cultures, but what we did do was open up a window and build curiosity.

The volunteer fair was an experience like no other; I built connections with other undergraduate students across faculties, programs, & years, heard stories and shared laughs with people I would have otherwise never encountered. Being able to articulate the kind of significance that an object has on me to elementary school kids and reflect on the questions they bring to the discussion was deeply meaningful in a very personal way. And beyond that, this experience really impacted the way I approached topics around cultural psychology & multiculturalism. It gave me insight on Canada's approach to multiculturalism from the ground-level, leading to several impactful research questions that I ended up drawing out of it.

It was the most unexpected of times, the best times, and I couldn't be more happy that I explored this opportunity.

UBC Point Grey (Vancouver) campus & Waverly Elementary School are located on the occupied, ancestral, unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations in so-called Canada.