The International Series features a different presentation on a different culture once a month (not including December) on a Wednesday in the basement of Building 8 from 12-1 p.m during the school year.
Carbonaro, ESL coordinator in Enrollment Services, said the success of an International Series presentation is all about the presenter. He said he doesn’t go out and choose a culture, people come to him and offer to present.
“Doing it this many years we’re beginning to repeat places,” Carbonaro said. “Not that there aren’t plenty of countries or cities in the world. People volunteer their time and energy, so beggars can’t be choosers. If it sounds interesting then we do it. There’s no particular agenda.”
The most recent event featured Mexico, and 150 people attended. The biggest turnout ever was about 180 for a presentation on China, Carbonaro said.
“It depends on what’s going on in the quarter,” Carbonaro said of the attendance. “You have to get the timing right. Having Mexico so soon after we started the quarter was good, because it kind of catches the wave of energy and spirit of the new quarter.”
Sometimes, Carbonaro said, he doesn’t realize the timing is bad until the presentation starts and only 40 people show up.
The presentations include a presenter speaking, music playing and sometimes other things like performance art. The presentations also feature food.
“The presentations are whatever the presenters want them to be,” Carbonaro said. “Sometimes we’ve had musicians, sometimes we’ve had dancers. We’ve even had Chinese calligraphers, like photo album type stuff. Sometimes the presentations are just lectures.”
On the day of the presentation, Carbonaro said he runs around the campus putting up flyers that replace the posters designed by Kelly Vogelsong. On those days his title should sheep dog, he said.
Vogelsong, a graphic designer in Marketing, works with Carbonaro to design the posters for the events.
Vogelsong said she tries to show the cultural details and ‘the fun side’ in her posters.
“The ones that are the best are when I can find a strong personal image,” Vogelsong said. “I think those are the ones when you can find a good face.”
Vogelsong said she will research the cultures and visits travel websites to get a sense of what’s going on. She said the biggest concern is to not offend anyone.
She uses inDesign and Photoshop to make the posters and said the process takes about two weeks to finish.