The Kean campus continued its annual Unity Week celebrations through Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 8, bringing an evening game show and afternoon salsa dances to students, and capped it off on Friday, April 10, with card games from several cultures.
On Tuesday, students filed into the Little Theatre in the Miron Student Center for a “The Price is What?” game show. Participants competed against one another on their knowledge of everyday prices through classic pricing games and friendly challenges. Winners got $20 and a chance for a Music Mashup competition. Afterward, attendees had the opportunity to win prizes in a raffle, such as Bluetooth speakers, a self-care pouch, and a Kean hoodie.
Attendee Dakota Costello, an Interior Design major from Berlin, NJ, placed in the top 5 in the game show and had the opportunity to play the Music Mashup. As a freshman, she’s attending her very first Unity Week at Kean.
“So far, so good,” she said on her experience. “I’m a part of SGA [Student Government Association], so I helped working the Culture Fest yesterday, and it was actually really fun to see how everything was put together and the different dancers and cultures that came together.”
Costello explained how she felt Unity Week events make students closer to the Kean community. “[It helps] people get involved and feel welcome,” she said. “And it just had a great representation of everyone's culture.”
The fun continued on Wednesday, as the SGA hosted a Salsa Magic event in Downs Hall. Students came together to dance salsa, merengue, and bachata, engaging with one another culturally while also relieving their stress from academics. After instruction, attendees enjoyed dance competitions and took part in a full dance party, complete with a DJ and a dance floor.
For many students, Unity Week is a time to come together while celebrating Kean’s diversity. Sophomore Bianca Evans, a History major with a Pre-Law concentration from Scotch Plains, shared how much she looks forward to the week each year.
“I love it, honestly,” Evans said. “I love when this time of year comes around and I get to tell everybody, please come back to all the events. I think it's just such a fun expression of all the different, diverse people that we have on campus.”
Evans reflected on past years, recalling memorable guests and activities. “Last year, we had Sal [Vulcano], and that was really fun because I grew up watching Impractical Jokers, so I was like, oh my gosh, my guy’s here,” she said.
She added that Unity Week helps make Kean feel like home. “One of the reasons that I came to Kean was because it's so diverse,” Evans said. “Unity Week just highlights all of that… it’s really cool to actually see everybody back on campus, especially with the warm weather. I just always have a lot of fun—it makes Kean feel like home.”
On Friday, students participated in more fun and friendly competition with Games Around the Globe, where they played card games like Spades and Dominoes.
Rafael Vallejos, a sophomore majoring in Finance and Accounting from Linden, NJ, shared a little about how he’s gotten more involved and is enjoying his second official Unity Week as a Kean student.
“My favorite part of Unity Week was probably the comedy show...with the homecoming concerts, and the Unity Week comedy show, the environment is just always amazing around both of those events,” Vallejos recalled.
This year's Unity Week Comedy Show featured political comic Josh Johnson, a youthful and refreshing addition to the week.
As a student worker for the Center for Leadership and Service as well as the SGA Class of 2028 Senator and Vice President of the Kean Investment Club, Vallejos has been enjoying all the Unity Week energy and was happy to end it off with Games Around the Globe. “Having a nice, relaxing game night is just a great way for people to bond and connect... it’s not as hype as [Culture Fest] but it’s a great way to end off the week.”
For Catherine Anukan, SGA’s Vice President of Programming and a senior majoring in Economics and Accounting, Unity Week has been a journey of growth and connection.
“I’m an international student, so I didn’t feel like I fit in at first,” she admitted. “But my second year, I became a senator for student government, and I broke out of my shell. It was really fun going to all the events, the concerts, and meeting people.”
This year, Anukan helped plan Culture Fest, one of Unity Week’s cornerstone events. “It was amazing, in my opinion,” she said. “It was wonderful to see people have fun [with] the samba performances, MASA performances, it was wonderful to see months of planning come together and see students actually enjoy it.”
She added that campus events like these are where real connections happen. “Campus events are the one place you can meet people,” Anukan said. “Walking around, going to class, everyone has stuff they’redoing. But at campus events, that’s everyone’s
