December 14, 2009

The semester is winding down, and another month has gone by with Anzar Exchange. The main event that I had been working towards, The Interfaith Day of Celebration, was held on November 21st in the Lower Lounge of the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union.

After finalizing speakers, which was more trouble than we thought it would be, and getting everything else settled, the event approached fast! The speakers that were involved were Aaron Weil, the executive director of Hillel University Center, Imam Abdulsamih from the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, and Christen Wurschmidt, a graduate student at the University studying Christianity. We also had performances by The VoKols and Pitt's Women's Choral Ensemble.

We had a good turnout at the event. The room was full, and people seemed to give positive reviews of the program. There was interest in Anzar, as well as the other participating groups, and what other events we were planning to have in the future.

Although sometimes a stressful process, planning and executing this event was good experience in working with multiple groups and the University bureaucratic processes.

In other news, I will be returning to work with Anzar next semester in a more fundraising capacity to raise money for the summer projects planned in Morocco! I am very excited and we have some interesting things planned for fundraisers, so stay tuned!

Barbara Ballard