It’s a Small World
After All
Bringing the MVA Community
Together Through Diversity
By Daniel Katuka, ’13 Montverde AcademyUpdate from Ann
Mills
on this long-standing tradition. I would be remiss
to not mention Ms. Kalena Meyers in my planning
– she helped me tremendously in learning the
ropes and I’m so thankful for her guidance.
Planning and putting together everything for
the ceremony was much more than gathering
flags and making sure everyone was in place for
the big day – it gave me a chance to meet the
students who were representing their countries
in the ceremony, hear their stories and how
proud they were to be involved.
For me, Montverde Academy is much more than
a school. It’s a place that changed my life. As
a 2013 graduate, I can honestly say, this school
is incredible, and I wouldn’t be the person I am
today without the people I met here and the
amazing community that comprises MVA.
A great hallmark of that community is diversity.
As the Academy’s new Director of Multicultural
Programs, I am fortunate to be able to facilitate a
variety of programs for our students that create
an open dialogue about our diversity while also
celebrating everyone’s cultures and beliefs.
This isn’t to say that recognizing our cultural
differences is new at the Academy – one of
our traditions that has always stuck with me
as something truly inspiring is the annual flag
raising ceremony at the beginning of every
school year. The first ceremony took place when
I was a student, and I remember it being just as
much of an honor to be one of the flag-raisers
as it is now. I have two siblings who also went
to the Academy – a sister and a brother – and
I remember how jealous I was that my sister
got to raise my home country of Nigeria’s flag!
Getting to represent your country in that way is
something truly special, and I know our students
here feel that.
This year, I had the opportunity to help plan the
ceremony, and it gave me a different perspective
The flag raising ceremony is just the beginning.
In the months following it, I’ve been able to
help our students celebrate our diversity even
more through cultural awareness events, church
outings to mosques and other religious gathering
places, a United Nations Day celebration, and
more. I hope to be able to continue planning
more events throughout the year and bring a
greater understanding of even more cultures to
our students, faculty, and staff.
Growing up in Nigeria, I didn’t know the ways
of the world and the other cultures that even
existed until I came to the Academy. When I
was here as a student, there were maybe four
other Nigerian students at MVA and now there
are many! I came from a small town where there
weren’t any opportunities to learn a lot about
new cultures, and I’ll never forget how scared I
was when I first came to campus. I remember
being terrified and then walking into my dorm
and seeing other students who were just like
me - nervous and from a new country. When
we got to talking, we learned we had more in
common than we originally thought. That’s what
Montverde Academy and our celebration of our
diverse culture is all about – coming together to
see that we really are all in this together on our
tiny planet.
It truly is a small world after all, and Montverde
Academy is a great part of it!