When I originally accepted it, I assumed that the financial management role would be very simple: monitoring the budget, making purchases, and ensuring that our events had adequate funding.  However, rather than simply managing numbers, I soon realized that every financial decision I made would impact how each member was appreciated and seen.

As part of my duties, I assisted in determining how money would be distributed for food. I initially misjudged the significance of eating; however, food is never “just food” in the ASA, which projects representation, identity, & memory—all tenets of a strong cultural heritage.

There are numerous ethnic groups in Nigeria, where I call home, and each has its unique, distinctive cuisine. What is recognizable to someone from the Igbo or Hausa culture may not be to someone from the Yoruba culture. In addition to Nigerian students, ASA represented students from North, South, and East Africa. Consequently, this implied that the food we offered at events had the potential to y make individuals feel excluded.

I started to see how people would become delighted when their cultural cuisine was offered and how silent they may become if their customs were absent. I became aware of my responsibility as a result. As a financial manager, I had to develop my ability to listen intently to members, ask insightful questions, and balance the budget so that many cultures could be represented. I made an effort to vary my selections throughout gatherings rather than always ordering food from the same location.I began to see and value the cultural quirks I had previously taken for granted, discovering that being sensitive meant being open to listening, changing, and developing.

In a way, I can understand how much this job influenced who I am. It showed me that cultural knowledge is about practicing inclusiveness in daily decisions, not just about learning facts about various cultures. Whether someone feels seen can be influenced by something as little as what we put on a plate. One of the most fulfilling aspects so far of my time at ASA  has been being able to promote that feeling of community.