On Friday, May 15, HC hosted a culture fair, which celebrated and recognized the diverse backgrounds of our school community. The event took place in the gym and consisted of various educational tables, displays, and performances. While multiple students and adults in the building brought the culture fair to life, graduating senior Carmel Bubidi led the organization of the event. Bubidi was inspired by Emmanuel Mwakadi, a HC student who sadly passed away in 2024.
“My inspiration was when I lost my friend two years ago,” Bubidi said, referring to Mwakadi and the impact he made on the HC community. “I felt like my people [and] my country felt left. And so, I decided to express my feelings to the administrators of how I felt, and how I wanted changes to start. […] I said, ‘What we can do is a culture fair where everyone is able to share who they are and who they identified as, like their country.’”
In 2016, Mwakadi arrived in Lexington from the Congo with his family. He had been accepted to Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC), preparing him to be the first in his family to attend college. However, Mwakadi sadly passed away in May of 2024 prior to attending BCTC. Mwakadi’s story has encouraged students at HC like Bubidi to celebrate cultural diversity more than ever before.
“[The culture fair] is gonna make people be more understanding and judge less,” Bubidi said. “People that come into America, it takes us time to get used to everything, like learn a new language [and] get along with everybody. So, we hope that they can understand us more and be less judgmental.”
The culture fair reminds us that everyone is unique and has a story to tell about their heritage. Multiple tables and displays had their own cultural dishes for students to sample or games to play. The opportunity to share our different backgrounds was a product of collaboration between students and adults at HC.
“[The planning process] was so stressful,” Bubidi said. “Practicing every day, working on the speech, and stuff like that. So, it was a really long process.”
Although Bubidi is graduating, she is proud of this year’s culture fair and looks forward to seeing it grow as a HC tradition in the future.
“The people I trust to continue doing this are Ms. March, Ms. Behler, and Mr. Long,” Bubidi said. “I will always come back to give a speech and kind of help organize. So even though I’m graduating, I’m still coming back and helping.”
Although this year’s culture fair has passed, it is never too late to start celebrating others and embracing cultural diversity. Budibi’s passion and leadership serves as a remarkable inspiration for our community.
