Nations United: MATC International Students Display Their Culture and Heritage

We’re here to celebrate the value that global education and an exchange of cultures can bring to all of us.

Shanthi Thapa can proudly tell you that Nepal is the only nation in the world that flies a triangular flag.

Soukaina Haddad beams with delight when talking about her birthplace, Meknes, Morocco, which dates back to the 11th century.

Thapa and Haddad were two Milwaukee Area Technical College students who proudly displayed their culture and heritage at International Day: A Walk Around the World held Tuesday, November 18, at MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus.

The event, sponsored by the college’s International Student Services and the International Student Association, marked the start of National International Education Week, a joint initiative of the federal Department of State and Department of Education. 

This year the week runs from November 17-21.

“We’re here to celebrate the value that global education and an exchange of cultures can bring to all of us,” said Karla Huerta, an international student advisor at MATC. “We want to make this an annual event and expand the number of countries represented.”

Nearly 200 MATC students, faculty and staff — including MATC President Anthony Cruz, who is the son of Cuban immigrants — learned facts about a dozen countries, sampled international cuisine and enjoyed a fashion show that spotlighted clothing from around the globe.

Nations represented were Argentina, Costa Rica, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar and Nepal. The food included tamales, falafel, samosas, egg rolls and jalebi, a deep-fried flour circle soaked in syrup.

This semester MATC has about 160 international students from 43 countries, Huerta said. The largest group, about 12% of the total, come from India.

“You can see and feel the diversity on our campus,” said Michael Rogers, MATC’s vice president for student engagement and community impact. “Hopefully the people who came found out something new.”

Haddad, who came to the United States with her husband in March 2024, participated in the fashion show, displaying a long, flowing, shimmering gold dress.

She worked as a mathematics teacher for two years and was studying mechanical engineering in Morocco. Her husband earned an associate degree from MATC before transferring to Marquette University to study business.

At MATC, Haddad is in the IT Web and Software Developer program. “When my husband went here, he knew that this was the best place for me to go,” she said.

Thapa, who is studying Business Management at MATC, was born and raised in the city of Haridwar in northern India. Her parents were both born and raised in Nepal, and she visited their homeland often, she said.

“We went there almost every summer,” Thapa said while standing at a table covered with Nepalese jewelry and utensils. 

Thapa and her husband came to the United States more than 10 years ago. They lived in Florida and Chicago before her husband took a job as a researcher in Milwaukee. 

In India, she had earned a master’s degree in business and worked at several customer service jobs. In America, she discovered she needed more education to work. “To get a great job, you have to go back to school,” she said. 

She is on track to earn an associate degree in December. She then hopes to work as an administrative assistant. “We have come to love this area,” she said about Milwaukee. “This is a peaceful place.”

Learn more about MATC’s International Student Services