Home Away from Home: Anna's Blue Marble Bash Speech

Our annual Blue Marble Bash event always features three speeches from students and community members who share their FIUTS stories with guests. Since we cannot gather in person this year, we’ve recorded our three speakers to be a part of our Virtual Bash!

Our third and final speaker is Anna Chu. Anna, a senior Communication & Psychology major from Taiwan, is the current Vice President of the FIUTS Student Board. In her speech, Anna tells the story of how she found a community and a home away from home at FIUTS, and how being involved in FIUTS gave her confidence in her strengths and abilities as a leader.

FIUTS gives students from all over the world a sense of community in an unfamiliar place, empowering them to grow into globally-minded leaders. Watch Anna’s speech (or read the full text below) and support programs for students like her at www.fiuts.org/bash.

Anna didn't know what to expect when a friend invited her to a committee meeting for FIUTS CulturalFest International Expo. This is her story.

Full Text of Anna’s Speech

Let’s just say I wasn’t introduced to FIUTS the quote end quote “traditional” way. My roommate Fia had caught what I like to call the “FIUTS syndrome”, which is when you won’t stop promoting FIUTS to your friends and try to sneak it in every conversation possible. One Friday afternoon during my sophomore year, I got a call from Fia. She invited me to a meet up to learn about a “really cool cultural event.” I remember thinking to myself, “this sounds pretty shady, but what harm can it cause?” So I went, and the next thing I knew after attending that meeting was that I am officially a marketing committee member who has signed up to go to their weekly meetings. During that first meeting, I was asked to go deliver our marketing plans to another committee that actually plans this “really cool cultural event”, that I later learned actually had a name called CulturalFest Expo. Now, you would think that I knew better to see what’s coming next. Before I even got to present our marketing plans at the meeting, I was introduced as the new CulturalFest Expo committee member. Basically, I managed to become a member for two committees in a week. And from there, I eventually took on the role of CulturalFest Expo committee co-chair and now the Vice President of the Student Board - of course by this point,| voluntarily.

Now you might wonder, why didn’t I just stop going to those committee meetings? And yes, it’s partly because of the unlimited amount of free snacks but it was mainly the people that made me want to stay. However, the answer to that question goes quite a bit deeper. As a freshman, people would always ask me what my favorite place on campus was. And my answer would always be the “Husky Stadium during a non-game day”| because that was the best place to cry without being interrupted, which pretty much sums up my freshman year. However, after becoming involved with FIUTS, I found myself saying that my favorite place on campus would actually be a shaggy little corner on the 2nd floor in the HUB, the FIUTS office. Now, | there are several reasons why the FIUTS office has a special place in my heart. First, there is always food leftover from Wednesday Lunch or Era asking me if I want to take food home. This seems to be a recurring theme where Michelle, my previous staff advisor| would always offer me unlimited amounts of KIND bars while my current staff advisor Alex always offers me tea. Second, the conversations and interactions you witness or engage in the office. Whether it’s having a heated debate with the rest of the student board about which bubble tea shop is the best on the Ave or Rachel and I passionately waving through the window at our committee members as they walk up the stairs with other people giving us weird looks, there is never a boring day in the office. Because after all, the magic that made the office such a special place was always the people.

Recalling my very first committee experience, I was both confused and bewildered by the fact that everyone had a title, whether it was being a committee member, facilitator, co-chair or student board member. But little did I know that these titles actually carried a lot of meaning. These titles not only empowered people to perform their role but also suggest the significant value FIUTS places in these seemingly insignificant roles. I may just be a committee member but I looked forward to going to every committee meeting knowing that the work I do matters. Reflecting back on my FIUTS journey, these seemingly meaningless titles actually represented my milestones as a leader. Starting from a committee member, to leading a committee as a co-chair to supervising all the committees as the student board vice president, each position not only allowed me to take on new challenges but also taught me not to question what I am capable of.

Now I would be lying if I took all the credit. Rather, the credit should go to the people in FIUTS that helped shape me into who I am today as a leader. Whether it’s the staff, committee or student board members, they taught me how to be patient when things aren’t going as expected, they taught me resilience during challenging times, they encouraged me to grow, and supported me throughout this process. More importantly, they accepted who I am and were there whenever I needed them through my highs and my lows. Slowly and steadily, I started to realize it’s not the office itself, but the people that make FIUTS who they are today.

Change is unavoidable, even with FIUTS. Whether saying goodbye to old friends, welcoming newcomers, or saying goodbye to our old office and facing new challenges while moving into a new space. But one thing that remains unchanged is the overwhelming sense of comfort and community FIUTS has provided me. Now spending my third year with FIUTS, I too have caught the FIUTS syndrome, perhaps even more than Fia. As a graduating senior, when people ask me where my favorite place is on campus, my answer is FIUTS, wherever it may be, because the people are where FIUTS is and it will always be my home far away from home.