I’ll never forget the last Tuesday in September.
“We’re excited to foster collaboration with our college and countries,” said Dr. Katie Lynch, BCC’s provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. On Sept. 24 a group of Chinese delegates consisting of heads of universities, colleges and vocational schools in China visited Brookdale on their tour of American higher education institutions.
Since I am a curious student, I know that if I’m on campus at 11 a.m. the SLC is the place to be. As I entered, I walked directly to the events board to see what activities were taking place that day. Occasionally, I miss out on events that started at 10 a.m., but luckily Tuesdays and Thursdays are always filled with activities and academic discussions.
While reading the list, “Chinese Delegation, 1:30 p.m.” caught my eye. I quickly went to The Current meeting to ask Prof. Debbie Mura if she knew anything about this event. As the journalism professor and The Current adviser, she told me where to go and who to ask for more information.
With advice, my task began. I wanted to find out why a Chinese delegation was coming to Brookdale and if I could attend the meeting.
Eventually it was Dr. Janice Thomas, director of the International Education Center, who informed me that “a delegation from higher education institutions in China are visiting higher education institutions in the U.S., and they requested to visit Brookdale, which (college president), Dr. (David) Stout said yes to.”
I asked if I could join the event on behalf of The Current, of course. To my delight, I was gladly welcomed in.
I went down to the lower level of the SLC to wait in the conference room. As I watched them place state and national flags around the room, I was also served a task by Thomas to help set the tables with information sheets for the guests. I took this opportunity to ask Thomas a few questions.
Thomas explained that the session would be a short program that would give the delegates a chance to learn about Brookdale. She noted that this was “not the first time a Chinese delegation visited Brookdale, but maybe (it’s the) first after the pandemic.”
Once the guests arrived, the room quickly filled. Thomas welcomed everyone as the meeting commenced. Lynch spoke and greeted everyone “hello” in Mandarin which drew smiles from the delegates who greeted her in Mandarin in return.
After Stout gave a brief history of Brookdale that included a special mention of the “award-winning horse (Regret) on the Brookdale farm,” the group toured the Lincroft campus with Edward Johnson, the executive director of governmental affairs and community relations. The tour included a glimpse of the Health and Science department to check out the nursing area and ended in the library.
Before returning to the conference room, the delegates gathered to take a picture in front of the “Success” word art across from the SLC.
In the beginning, I did not know what to expect, especially once I realized I was the only student in the meeting. I was comforted by my table guests who were inquisitive about what it is like to be a Brookdale student. I learned how students and teachers can participate in the academic exchange and the “yes” program that invited 50,000 American students to China. Overall, “no virtual platform could replace the in-person meetings such as this” said the representative of the Chinese delegation, to which we all agreed with applause.
This event was not posted on Brookdale’s Student Life and Activities calendar nor the main events calendar. But my experience proves you can always find something interesting happening on Brookdale’s campus if you have an inquisitive mind.