Each month during the semester at Winona State University, Cultural Cafés bring students and faculty members together to explore different cultures through food, music, dance, and more. On Oct. 23rd, 2025, Pronob Kumar, an international student from Bangladesh, hosted a Cultural Café event titled Beautiful Bangladesh. At this event, Kumar shared the goal of the event and the reasons he and other students present about their cultures at Cultural Cafes.  

“It’s mostly done by international students for their cross-cultural scholarship,” Kumar said. “It’s a sharing project. We share about our culture for the students over here.” 

During this event, he presented about his home country, led a Q&A session with a group of students and faculty and shared Bangladeshi cuisine with the group. Bangladeshi students make up the largest population of international students at Winona State, so having an opportunity to share about their culture was important to Kumar. 

“In this event, mostly we present about our country and share some food and some other things, or maybe music and dance about our culture,” Kumar said. “[This is done to] notify the campus of how diverse the world is.” 

According to Dr. Charles Martin-Stanley, the Assistant Director of Equity & Inclusive Excellence (EIE), Cultural Café events are an important part of creating an inclusive and diverse campus. 

“My goal is to make sure that we have events on campus that represent and celebrate all of our students,” Martin-Stanley said. “So, our Cultural Cafés are an opportunity to celebrate both cultural and international diversity on campus.” 

Through these events, Martin-Stanley found that students from different backgrounds were finding common ground and a way to connect. The Cultural Café events provided a safe space for Winona State community members to connect with new cultures. 

“[It’s great] to be able to have people from all walks of life enjoy food from different cultures, different countries, as well as experiencing the informational piece of it, too,” Martin-Stanley said. “It’s one of those co-curricular activities where you’re not in a classroom, but you’re still learning, and it’s still enhancing your college experience.” 

Cultural Cafés are a great way for students to engage with cultures that are different from their own. Food, music, and knowledge connect people, and these are the things that can be found at these monthly events. As the semester continues, keep an eye out for the next Cultural Café and engage with a community that may be unfamiliar to you.