By Amanda Gebre
This semester, I had the chance to lead the planning of the East African Mixer, an event
supported by the Barger Leadership Institute (BLI). Our goal was simple: to create a space for
East African students to connect, share our cultures, and build community on campus. The event
brought together several cultural orgs, including the Somali, Sudanese and South Sudanese, and
East African Student Associations, and it ended up being one of the most meaningful
experiences of the semester.
We wanted to highlight the diversity of East Africa while creating a relaxed, welcoming
environment. There was music, traditional food, games, and space for everyone to talk and
connect. It was one of the first times many of us had come together like this at Michigan, and
seeing students excited to share their culture and meet new people reminded me why we started
EESA in the first place.
One of the most rewarding parts of this project was seeing how each team took
ownership of a piece of the event. Every organization played a role — from coordinating food
and drinks to designing the flyer, setting up décor, and greeting attendees. Instead of relying on
one person to lead everything, we distributed responsibilities based on each group’s strengths.
That collaboration not only made the process smoother but also built a stronger sense of
partnership across our communities.
The two BLI Habits that stood out the most were Build a Team and Collect, Combine,
Create. I learned that leadership isn’t about doing everything myself — it’s about empowering
others and creating room for shared ownership. After the event, we gathered feedback from
attendees and collaborators to reflect on what went well and what we could improve next time. It
was amazing to see how much people valued having a culturally specific, community-driven
space.
This event taught me that when you trust people to lead, you build something more
sustainable and impactful. Moving forward, we hope to turn the East African Mixer into a
recurring series and continue creating spaces that celebrate East African voices and collaboration
on campus.
