In the fall of 2017, East Meets West hosted 10 Thai guests, including students and professors from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU) in Thailand. Kent students were eager to unite art and culture, to share, learn and create in their own space just as they had done in Thailand.

Our question/problem: East Meets West wanted to create an experience that the Thai students wouldn’t forget. How would East Meets West create a successful, collaboration for our guests who were all coming from Bangkok (a city of five million) at Kent State?

Our 2018 submission at the Undergraduate Research Symposium presents the activities, creative work and learning outcomes of hosting this international event. From fundraising and planning meaningful activities, to creating opportunities for collaboration and cultural immersion, East Meets West students, under the tutelage of our Faculty Advisor, Associate Professor Rockland, created a diverse, and successful international exchange where we served as the hosts.

SSRU guests were able to participate in a variety of classes within the college of the arts such as lighting design, costume design, theatre, dance and music. They collaborated with the Thai Music Ensemble in performances of 2017 Mosaic and the KSU World Music Concert, and they experienced American culture through social events, visits to Cleveland museums and a performance of the holiday classic The Nutcracker Ballet. One major highlight was a master class in Thai Classical Dance that was open to the entire Kent campus and included live music.