MCCBeary’s: A Symphony of Lights
The MCC welcomes their incoming boards and honors clubs’ accomplishments in the annual transitional dinner
Colorfully dressed in formal attire and ready for a Symphony of Lights, members of the Multicultural Center (MCC) crowded into the GlassHouse on Sunday for the center’s annual awards show. MCCBeary’s drew more than the 350 guests that Community Development Director Taylor Kealoha estimated during the year-long planning process.
“The purpose of MCCBeary’s is to get our clubs all together under one roof to celebrate all of our accomplishments throughout the year, and recognize that,” Kealoha said.
“although our experiences are different within Santa Clara University, we are one community at the end of the day, and we’re all here to support each other”
“We should take time to recognize what we bring to the Santa Clara campus and acknowledge the good work that we do.”
The event celebrated the 14 organizations that make up the center, highlighted club and individual accomplishments through various awards and hosted the traditional candle-lighting ceremony where each organization’s outgoing executive board welcomes the incoming ones for the next year.
Kealoha has been involved with the center since her freshman year. Beginning as a representative of Barkada, the Filipino Student Association, during her sophomore year, she moved up to co-chair before joining the MCC staff her senior year as the community development director.
Alongside Global Village, MCCBeary’s has been her biggest responsibility, an event for which she put in much thought but came out empty-handed on one of the most important aspects–the theme. Kealoha admitted turning to ChatGPT to come up with the theme for this year: A Symphony of Lights.
“I asked, ‘list prom ideas related to brilliance or lights,’ because the passing of the candle was a symbol of warmth, brightness and brilliance,” she said. “That's where I came across ‘A Symphony of Lights.’ It sounded very poetic, but the main emphasis was highlighting MCC’s accomplishments, the light and positivity that we bring to the MCC and the brilliance of our individual members.”
For $15, guests enjoyed music, videos and lip-syncs from each organization projected onto a giant screen; dinner; an awards show and dancing. On the day of, Kealoha recalled many people showing up unexpectedly to buy tickets at the door, exceeding her attendance estimate and causing her to realize how many people were interested in being involved with the MCC.
This inconvenience strengthened the case for a demand that MCC members have been making—to provide the center’s clubs with a larger space. According to Kealoha, if the MCCBeary’s venue couldn’t appropriately fit all of the students interested in being involved with the MCC, the much smaller Shappell Lounge is not a good fit either. She believes that one of the key targets of events like MCCBeary’s is to put the center in the limelight and be able to bring attention to similar needs.
Despite all the challenges involved, Kealoha felt especially satisfied when she was able to see the result of her hard work.
“Even though it was so challenging, it was so rewarding,” she said. “Seeing people's reactions on the night of and getting compliments afterward with people saying, ‘Thank you for putting on my first and last MCCBeary’s’–it was very feel-good sensation, after the fact.”
For Kealoha, the planning process was as much of a learning experience as it was a job for her. She was reminded of the Multicultural Center’s founding values and wanted to implement them in her vision of MCCBeary’s 2023 to move in a direction she thought best reflected the principles of the center: cultures and inclusivity.
“It was really interesting to see everybody's passions come to life and see how much they value their respective communities as well as their clubs,” she said. “There's very much a deep sense of pride within people that I don't necessarily get to see on a day-to-day basis because I'm always in the office, but I'm never really in the lounge with everyone else. It's very heartwarming. Our community is a strong one.”
During the award section of the show, Kealoha and her team made sure to award each club with a personalized recognition. The awards were based on nominations from a survey of students as well as the team’s best judgments on who deserved which award. The final awards were as follows:
Most Educational Culture Show – Barkada (Filipino Student Union)
Most Lively Culture Show – Asian American & Pacific Islander Student Union (APSU)
Most Impactful Culture Show – Undocumented Students and Allies Association (USAA)
Educational Based Award – Together for Ladies of Color (TLC)
The Center serves as a clearinghouse for information about the different cultures and promotes the exchange of perspectives among individuals from different backgrounds. The Center provides materials and facilities for anyone interested in learning about the many cultures represented at Santa Clara University.
SCU Community Outreach – Igwebuike (Black/Pan African Student Union)
The Center serves to educate and enlighten the entire University community, as well as us, regarding the reality of our world. The Center opens people’s eyes and minds to the rich cultural backgrounds represented at Santa Clara, in California, and in the United States. It works to dispel the cultural and ethnic stereotypes and to combat the prevalence of racism on the Santa Clara campus.
Safe Space Promotion – Middle Eastern North African Student Union (MENA)
The Center provides a safe space for minority students. The Center is a place where students may come and meet with students of similar as well as other backgrounds, creating an environment that fosters inclusivity and equality.
Experience Curation – Intandesh (South Asian Student Union)
The Center presents an outlet for co-curricular activities and experiential learning opportunities for students that promote a greater appreciation of different cultural traditions.
Prospective Students – Latinx Student Union (LSU)
The Center serves to attract more students of color to Santa Clara University; to increase their retention rate, and to make the University more attractive overall for all University students, faculty, and staff. It also works to increase the number of minority students in higher education in general.
Cultural Empowerment – African Student Association (ASA)
The Center assists all students in overcoming stereotypes projected onto individuals from cultural heritage different from their own.
Golden Connection – Japanese Student Association (JSA) & Korean Student Association (KSA)
Recognizing the remarkable connection between the two MCC clubs, this award honors their influential role in championing multiculturalism, nurturing unity, and fostering an inclusive atmosphere within the MCC space.
Community Empowerment – Vietnamese Student Association (VSA)
Honors an MCC club that has consistently empowered its members through its creative and lucrative fundraising opportunities. This recognition celebrates its efforts to promote economic independence and achieve financial success, ultimately creating a more empowered society.
Community Enrichment – Chinese Student Association (CSA)
Awarded to the club that encourages ideals of friendship, support, and growth through programming and promotes the idea that students should serve as resources for one another.
Remarkable Growth – Ka Mana`o O Hawai`i (Hawai`i Club)
Honors an MCC club that has demonstrated exceptional progress and development, surpassing expectations and overcoming challenges. This recognition celebrates their inspiring journey of growth—whether through project implementation or overall impact—and highlights their continuous pursuit of excellence.