Virtual Global Gala 2021: Looking Back

On Saturday, May 29, the FIUTS Student Board along with many other friends of FIUTS gathered virtually for the first-ever virtual Global Gala! This annual event is traditionally a dance party to celebrate the coming end of the academic year and welcome the newly elected Student Board for the following year. Though we weren’t able to dance together in person this year, planning and attending the virtual Global Gala was a great experience for many students. Here’s what the two co-chairs of the Global Gala planning committee, Nghi and Thena, had to say about what it was like to be a part of the planning process:

“I really enjoyed collaborating with everyone for Global Gala 2021. Everything was memorable - from late night zoom sessions, member karaoke showdown to playing Gonggi on event day. It took hours to customize the Gathertown event and perfect the Kultural Kits so that they were appropriate and culturally sensitive.

A Night in Seoul was FIUTS’ first virtual Global Gala which it was super exciting to be a part of. With this new environment, there were lots of unexpected challenges which we resolved through hours of meeting and planning. Global Gala 2021 was made possible by our wonderful committee members and staff.

I would like to thank the following individuals for their time, guidance and support: Thena, Alex, Vy, Jaden, Kana, Michelle, Shari, Chau, Lucy, Emerson, Kedi, Azka, Naisha, Rituraj, Luke, Brennan, Mark, Samantha, Hwi. With that said, all the planning was worth it after many attendees mentioned how it was the highlight of their year.” -Nghi

“We had a lot of fun brainstorming ideas for Global Gala, mainly due to we had no idea how this year's event was gonna turn up initially. The process of setting up the concept of virtual Global Gala brought creativity out of all the committee members, and it's pretty interesting to see different ideas from different members from the team.

While there are some minor setbacks we faced during the entire time preparing for Global Gala, they're mostly logistic issues which were solved quickly. The thought process on the other hand required us to think out-of-the-box, identifying possible errors and resolve them and making sure the event goes as smoothly as possible.

There are a lot of things that I've learnt during the entire time leading up to Global Gala. This is by far one of the biggest tasks that was ever given to me, and I learnt how cooperation could make every task to be done efficiently. I highly appreciate the Global Gala Team's effort, as they worked tirelessly to make this event successful.

A screenshot of the event on Gathertown!

One thing that made me enjoy the event was was the overall experience of how we conducted this year's Gala. We have utilized Gathertown, a virtual space for gathering and meet up, and personally I had quite a lot of fun using it. I can use my avatar and go to wherever I want, similar to the in-person experience.” -Thena

Thank you to all our student leaders who helped in the planning process and to everyone who attended this event and made it a success! We hope to be able to dance with you in person again next year.