On April 21st, FIUTS celebrated our sixth annual Blue Marble Bash! It was a beautiful sight to see our community gathered in one place for the first time in a long time and every single attendee gave their support for FIUTS programs.

During the event, three inspiring students shared their FIUTS stories and the impact FIUTS’ has had on their journey at the University of Washington. Read on to hear from Margaret Tu, Tomoka Xie, and Julian Jordan and their tales on bravery, leadership, and community.

Margaret Tu

It’s my privilege to share with you my stories today. I am Margaret Tu, an international student from Taiwan. I am a second-year Ph.D. in Law student. Also, a mother of two young children—the elder one is four, and the little one is three.
I’m a person with many names because I’m an indigenous person from Taiwan. “Nikal Kabala’an” is my Pangcah/Amis name given by a female elder from our indigenous community; “Tu, Yun-Pu” is my Han Taiwanese name given by my parents (my mother is the second generation of Hoklo people and a Muslim from Beijing where the family relocated to Taiwan during 1949, the Chinese Civil War; and my father is from Hakka people and Pangcah/Amis plus Sakizaya indigenous community). “Margaret” is my English name given by my former aunt. She’s from the Republic of Mauritius and teaches English in Taiwan.
I’d like to share with you the culture of Taiwan. I recognized all my names, and my names represent the diversity in populations in Taiwan--where the established impression of Taiwan is composed of Han Taiwanese who only speak Mandarin. Today, I am wearing the traditional Pangcah/Amis outfit.
Six years ago, I chose to study for my master's program at the University of Washington right after graduating from the university in Taiwan. I came here and enjoyed the richness in curriculums and many resources to learn about the indigenous studies in Seattle. I joined the Tribal Court Clinic and visited the Tulalip Tribes of Washington. As an international student who studied in the US for the first time, I subscribed to the FIUTS newsletter and received weekly information that gave me opportunities to explore the new environment during my time in Seattle.
I went back to Taiwan after my master’s degree, but by the end of 2019, I had applied to return to UW for my Ph.D. Then, the pandemic started. I was breastfeeding my younger daughter in the middle of the night and watching the news, anxiously. In the Spring of 2020, I received a congratulations letter from UW Ph.D. in Law program, yet at the same time, the pandemic was losing control. I saw sad news about death rates and hate crimes. I started to hesitate about my years-long plan to return to the beautiful campus with a cheery blossom that I once really looked forward to sharing with my husband and our kids.
One thing that mitigated my anxiety was the newsletter from FIUTS. I remained subscribed to the FIUTS newsletter when I was in Taiwan. It kept me feeling connected to the FIUTS community. I was nervous about the hate crime triggered by COVID, especially now I’m bringing my family. By reading the FIUTS newsletter, I was reassured that FIUTS and UW are trying to make a safe environment and care about the experience that international students have. I appreciated the information about mental health and other kinds of support.
So, after a painful year-long study remotely in 16 hours-time differences from Taiwan. Last year, when the leaves were turning into beautiful golden colors, my family and I landed here. Finally, once again, I stepped foot on the beautiful campus in my memory.
My family felt welcome in the community when we joined the family event hosted by FIUTS at a local LEGO play space. Many families were international students and scholars, just like us. Kids played together, and grown-ups chatted about living in Seattle as most of us are new to the city. I cherished the opportunity of seeing and talking to people in-person in the community, especially after the pandemic had been gradually under control.
I’m thankful for the platform created by FIUTS to showcase my identity, where I was honored to join the CulturalFest Performance this year. I covered a song composed by an indigenous singer from Taiwan. In CulturalFest, I could sing from my heart and invite people around the world to know more about Taiwan and, most importantly, the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, where we are underrepresented on so many levels, both internationally and domestically.
Today, I am blessed to stand here to celebrate our incredible FIUTS community as we gather in person again. I wish you all good health, and please enjoy the lovely evening of Blue Marble Bash!

Tomoka Xie

When I first started taking classes at UW, I remember how disconnected I felt from everything, but most importantly, from everyone. I felt separated from UW and other Huskies. I was a part of a community, yet entirely separate from it. This is a feeling I think many who started their studies during the pandemic likely share - and one that I think was crucial to why being a part of a community like FIUTS was important to me.
It’s hard to feel enthusiastic about your academics, or to even really feel like you were genuinely getting the experience you signed up for when you’re a world away from everything. Even worse, I felt like I wasn’t really even practicing or using my English, something which made the whole remote experience that much worse. So I signed up for the Language Exchange Program where I could help others learn Japanese and then practice my English. Through the Language Exchange, I met an alumni, Amanda, who was in a FIUTS program as an undergrad and convinced me to join FIUTS and become a facilitator. Something which I kept in my mind as I prepared myself for when I would eventually make my way to Seattle.
I still remember those first moments in SeaTac so clearly - I had arrived by myself, carrying two huge suitcases. It was my first time leaving my family and living by myself overseas. I had been practicing English with Amanda, but I still wasn’t entirely used to using it regularly. I felt so lost, and so alone. In a way, it was my first real challenge I had to overcome - and it was a daunting one.
As the days went on, the challenge felt increasingly more difficult. I still wasn’t comfortable or confident with speaking English regularly; I was so shy, and so quiet. I didn’t talk to anyone by myself because I was scared that no one would understand my English. I had felt alone and disconnected when studying remotely in Japan, yet here I was, finally in Seattle, and just as disconnected.
I remembered Amanda talking about FIUTS - and so I ended up joining several events hosted by FIUTS. Everyone I met through FIUTS was welcoming and friendly. I felt like I could fully open my heart to the members of this community and begin to build out those connections I had wanted for so long. FIUTS provided a safe place to explore not just what this campus has to offer, but also who I could become.
Also, I feel like this is one of the most important things I could ever say about FIUTS.
I really enjoy all the food they offer. No, really, all the food from FIUTS is just so good. And I feel like there is just always food available. Every time I went to a meeting, there was some sort of food on the table. It wasn’t just like, cookies or chips and stuff like that. Sometimes we had Thai food, sometimes Indian food, and constantly just different options for us to try and enjoy. There is something really special and particularly important about sharing food to become part of a community. I remember the moment we all sat down, started eating and talking about the CulturalFest line-up, laughing and excited about what we were about to do, and how at that moment, I felt like I belonged.
The day when FIUTS asked me to become a Student Board member was a major turning point in my experience at the UW. It was the moment I became certain that FIUTS wasn’t just a place where I belonged, but the place where I wanted to belong. It felt like I had finally overcome those challenges I first felt at SeaTac and found the connection I had been looking for.
FIUTS has been monumental for me during my time at UW. Being a part of this community has changed me from the person who had arrived at SeaTac to one who is eager to take action and make a better community. What I’ve experienced in FIUTS will stay with me long after I have graduated and moved on to a professional career, much like Amanda before me. I am so proud to know that my contributions to FIUTS will go on to shape generations of students to come and help foster the kind of inclusive global community that I have always wanted. So thank you for coming tonight, and thank you to FIUTS for giving us this wonderful home where we can all feel like we belong.

Julian Jordan

Hello everyone, I’m honoured to be speaking to you tonight in this incredible platform. I’m Julian Jordan, a masters student in International studies, and I discovered FIUTS at the end of my first year. I was impressed with their history of student engagement, so I registered to become a facilitator. And as a facilitator, I've participated in so many discussions that had people sharing their cultures, including food recommendations (which is my personal favourite). But honestly, FIUTS provides an amazing opportunity for cultural exchange and building intercultural understanding. A little background on who I am, I come from a Latino background with a Mexican mother and Puerto Rican father. I tell you this to provide context for one of my first facilitation events. When we were hosting welcome week tours this last fall, I took a large group of international students to Green Lake to explore the area and share a food staple from my background that I love, tamales! A large portion of the group had never tried them before. Thankfully, no one ate the wrappers and I demonstrated how to open them. We spent a lovely afternoon relaxing on the grass, discussing our various backgrounds such as students from India, who were looking forward to studying data management, while German exchange students shared that they wanted to help teach German while they were here. They all were glad to be here for school, as previous barriers for admission to the US had been removed, and I was glad I could share such a beautiful day with them. After we wrapped up our excursion, we called it a day and returned to campus. But that day has stuck out in my mind this entire last year. There’s something primal about sharing food with another, right? That shared moment of comradery, an exchanging of cultures.
This leads me to my next point, that through these events and sharing of cultures, this program has helped me grow in my own ways. My intercultural understanding has vastly improved, as I engaged with people from places such as Guatemala, all the way to China. Every person I talked with shared aspects of their lives that let me glimpse a sliver of their own culture. Take for example my friend Darian from Turkey, who told me about the work opportunities in his home country, and shared how he felt lucky to be studying here because his studies here would open more opportunities for him at home or abroad. Another area i’ve noticed where my skills have grown is leadership, having to facilitate numerous events, with groups ranging in size from 3 to 60 people at a time (the term herding cats comes to mind with the larger groups) but leading these groups on trips to the Nordic Museum or facilitating group discussions has sharpened my ability to create an engaging atmosphere that international students feel comfortable in, helping expand their own social networks through these events.
And those connections are key. Having a sense of community is vital for our students, especially for students coming to study in a different country and not having any social support system here. That Seattle Freeze is real y'all, and I don't know about you, but being hidden away for the last two years has been driving me nutty and craving more social interactions. These are the realities that everyone has been facing, and I am so glad I’ve been able to create a community for myself with my FIUTS people. Mi gente. One of my favourite events for seeing this community develop is the international happy hour. Of course, having some liquid courage helps everyone open up more, but like I said before, there’s something about sharing food or drinks that really let people bond. These casual events allowed me to get to know people on a more personal level, to really dig into who they are, and challenge them to a competitive game of darts to keep things fun. It’s these small moments Ill cherish as I prepare to graduate this summer.
Before I go though, I’d like to acknowledge everyone who has made tonight possible.
First, our staff, who work tirelessly to provide amazing opportunities to connect, such as tonight.
Secondly, let’s acknowledge our donors, for ensuring we have the resources we need to continue FIUTS programs.
Third, a shout out to the rest of my facilitators, who help bridge the gap between our students.
Last but certainly not least, a thanks to our involved students, without them none of this would be possible.
So one last tidbit of information for you, is that I love being on the water, fishing, swimming, doesn’t matter, and I thought this analogy would fit well to end my speech. Life is like a river, and although I may not know what is coming around the next bend, I know i'll have friends here I can rely on for support when the waters are rough, and to celebrate with when calmer waters come my way. Maybe when I graduate i'll be working in USAID, or a boutique consultancy firm. Wherever I go though, I will apply the community building skills I developed here in my future endeavours. So I’d like to raise a toast. We may be in difficult times, but with greater global understanding, we can work together towards a better future. Cheers to you all, thank you.

FIUTS is thankful for these students sharing their incredible stories with everyone at Blue Marble Bash. Didn’t get to attend this year’s event but still would like to support ongoing FIUTS programs that are crucial to more students like Margaret, Tomoka and Julian? Give a gift here!

Blue Marble Bash Student Speeches 2022

Margaret Tu

Tomoka Xie

Julian Jordan

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