By Birama Ndiaye (YES 2016-2017, Senegal placed with ACES in Toledo, OH)

International Education Week (IEW) 2020 was celebrated from November 16 – 20 across the globe, and YES alumni in Senegal put together various events to celebrate in their community. Here are some of the highlights of how they celebrated this past fall.

One of the alumni, Maryam Fall (YES 2017-2018, Senegal, placed with AYA/AIFS in Omer, MI), made pancakes for her college housemates in the city of Bambey. She thought this was a great way to celebrate IEW because it gave her a chance to show her housemates what she usually ate for breakfast when she was in U.S. Her housemates really enjoyed the pancakes and for some of them it was their first time trying pancakes! Maryam showed them how to make the pancakes and shared her exchange experience with them while they ate. It was a great bonding opportunity for them, and the housemates got to learn more about the United States.

Fortune Thiao (YES 2015-2016, Senegal, placed with AYUSA in Nampa, ID) and Dame Sakho YES (YES 2014-2015, Senegal, placed with PAX in Dewar, OK) decided to celebrate IEW by putting together a live event on Instagram where they discussed the differences between the Senegalese and American educational systems. Over 70 people from Senegal, France, Canada, and the U.S. watched the event and learned more about the two educational systems. After the presentation, they had a Q&A session and the participants asked many questions. Everyone left the event having learned a lot. 

Fortune Thiao helped put on another presentation with the Senegalese Alumni Coordinator to celebrate IEW about life in the United States. They explained to the over 50 participants in attendance the process on how to apply to U.S. colleges and answered any questions they may have had.