Fright On! USC Chan Global Initiatives Celebrates Halloween
October 29, 2021

by Dr. Danny Park

The USC Chan international student community celebrated Halloween by dressing up in costumes and attending a screening of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at a “Spooky Movie Night” hosted by the Division’s Global Initiatives office. Many of our Division’s international students are celebrating Halloween for the first time, and expressed their excitement at participating in a holiday they had grown up watching on television and in movies.

Post-Professional Master’s student Iana Cornelius, dressed up as a spooky farmer, shared: “I was so excited to experience Halloween here in the US! It was honestly my first experience celebrating Halloween because we don’t really celebrate it in India. They probably would think we were strange dressing up and going to people’s homes asking for candy. I had always heard stories and read books about it but never really participated in it. I’m so glad I got to experience choosing my own costume and being ‘spooky’!”

Iana’s classmate, Josh Digao, likewise shared, “It was great seeing everyone dress up and have fun, especially since this practice isn’t really that common in the Philippines. You could tell that everyone was excited and happy to show off their costumes — some of which they really worked hard on. All in all, I’m grateful to the Global Initiatives team for working so hard and giving us this opportunity.”

Approximately 40 students shared pizza and candy together on our patio, and enjoyed the movie at the end of a busy academic week.

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