“African night is the biggest event for the African Students Association. It is always an exciting event for us African students,” Grace Udah, a junior public health student and former ASA vice president from Abia State, Nigeria, said. “It is a time for us to show off different cultures in Africa, and I have always loved attending,”
ASA’s “African Night: The Surge” was open to all of campus and the greater Morgantown area.
Sponsors of this year’s event included WVU Student Government Association, Student Engagement and Leadership, Crystal Good from Black by God the West Virginian and the WVU Black Alumni Association.
“It’s just basically to solidify the community, the African community here at WVU but also showcase bits and pieces of that culture,” Sonia Ndifon, a senior biomedical engineering student and president of ASA, said.
According to Ndifon, ASA currently has about 80 members registered on WVUEngage. Most of those in ASA are graduate students but the body of members also includes undergraduate students.
To prepare for the event, ASA members and volunteers helped to advertise, decorate the Mountainlair Ballrooms and organize everything that was needed.
This was Ndifon’s second time attending African Night and her first time running the event.
“My sophomore year we didn’t have ASA at all. Then it was my junior year that I attended African night for the first time,” Ndifon said. “We kind of brought the club back together, and I got everybody back together, re-registered everything and just tried to reignite that community here at WVU.”
The events of the night were broken up into four segments, starting with an opening session that included a speech from Ndifon, ASA advisor Ibukun Ogunade and dignitary speaker Dean of Student Life Corey Farris.
During these speeches, the crowd was invited to grab African food specially catered by Zee’s Kitchen, a small business in Pennsylvania. The dishes served included jollof rice, fried rice, fried chicken, suya, pounded yam and egusi soup.
The third segment included a fashion show, pageant and talent show. The night ended with an award ceremony honoring ASA’s graduates and the crowning of Miss and Mr. Africa based on popular votes from the audience, Ndifon said.
This year Udah was crowned Miss Africa and Abednego Abdi, from Ethiopia, was crowned Mr. Africa.
“Running for Miss Africa was a really great and exciting experience for me. My goal was to go on stage and represent my culture through my outfit, jewels and walk,” said Udah. “My favorite part of the competition was my interaction with the audience, everyone was so hyped which made me feel confident.”
This year’s turnout to African Night was a little over a hundred people, slightly more than expected. Ndifon had optimistically predicted around 100 people to attend African Night based on past numbers.
“I would say it’s very rewarding because you get to say that ‘Oh, I did that for somebody that is really cool’ or ‘Oh, we should have those foods that people can enjoy.’ And I feel like it’s a part of something that me and everyone, I would say most people, can enjoy because it’s a celebration,” Ndifon said about organizing the event.
Events hosted by ASA are open to everyone and a great way to explore different African cultures most students may not otherwise get a chance to interact with.
“One thing that I really think about is the fact that most people, especially here at WVU, [ASA] may be their only chance to get a taste of Africa, the African continent, through the interactions with the people that they meet here,” Ndifon said. “If we’re having any events, you’re highly welcome to [come]. You don’t have to be in ASA, you don’t have to be African. We’re really just open to everyone and we would love to have any and everyone.”
Ndifon said ASA usually meets every other Friday at 6 p.m. For more information on the organization as a whole visit their WVU Engage page or their Instagram @wvu_asa to find out about any upcoming events.
