Graduate Students Gather to Celebrate Thanksgiving for New St. John’s Tradition
November 28, 2022 | By Luis Sanchez (AGI23)
This year, the Annapolis Graduate Institute office and the Graduate Student Council (GSC) co-hosted a Thanksgiving feast for students and faculty. This was a great opportunity for international students to experience this American tradition, and for the locals to share this special occasion with them.
On Monday night, November 21, the GI office and the GSC co-hosted a Thanksgiving feast for students and faculty. The meal took place at the Barr-Buchanan Center between classes.
That day, as students finished tutorials at 6:30 p.m., a buffet-style Thanksgiving meal awaited them in the building’s lobby. The traditional meal included turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and more—all very tasty, to be sure. At the dinner table, the conversations started—or rather continued—boosted by a traditional pumpkin pie for dessert.
“The Graduate Student Council had been looking for new ways to bring our GI community together, and I’m thrilled we got to do so through this year’s Thanksgiving meal,” said Luis Parrales (AGI23), president of the GSC, who took the opportunity to thank “the GI office for their partnership and support” and “Ms. Charmaine D’Souza (AGI23), GSC treasurer, who took the lead in brainstorming this event. I hope that we can keep looking for ways to continue our conversations outside of the classroom in the coming semesters!”
“Thanksgiving is a long-running tradition, celebrated in America like nowhere else in the English-speaking world. For me, Thanksgiving has always been the party you want to go to—but are never invited to. That has changed now. Being able to celebrate at St. John’s with classmates was a very special way to get to know the holiday,” remarked Australian Johnnie Ben Crocker (AGI23), beneficiary of the Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation.
This was, indeed, a great opportunity for international students to experience this American tradition, and for the locals to share this special occasion with them.
Overall, the event was a success. The food was delicious and plentiful, and the conversation flowed seamlessly among the participants. Hopefully, this event will become a tradition at the Graduate Institute for years to come.
