Story by Allison Boggan, Staff writer

Photo by Mackenzie O’Donley/The News

The Baptist Campus Ministry is a religious ministry dedicated to connecting college students to each other and to the local churches in the community. There are always opportunities for people to try new things while connecting with a diverse group of college students.

There are several leadership teams at the BCM, one of which is the International Team. Their goals are to make international students feel welcome and to provide learning opportunities for the community as well.

Kristin Anderson, sophomore from Norman, Oklahoma, said one of the events they host is the World Talent Night.

“We have an awesome opportunity to learn and experience things we never have before because people from all over the world are here,” Anderson said.

The goal of the World Talent Night is to allow international students to show something from their culture, though they are not limited to things specific to their own country. Non-international students are also welcome to participate.

Students have done dances, sung songs, played instruments, rapped, demonstrated Japanese calligraphy, performed original music and much more.

Khaled Alghamdi, junior from Saudi Arabia, performed stand-up comedy and urges others to also get involved in the BCM talent show.

“I noticed that I can usually make the people I am with laugh, so I decided to give stand-up comedy a shot. I use real, but weird things that have happened to me that are funny and can relate to a lot of people,” Alghamdi said. “My favorite part is watching everyone laugh.”

Alghamdi said he wants all students to know that everyone has a talent to show. Everyone has something that they are good at and can share with others. There are so many different talents and there is really no reason not to share them; there’s nothing to lose.

Danielle Whitaker, sophomore from Graves County, Kentucky, is on a leadership team at the BCM and has attended the World Talent Nights in the past.

“It’ll be a great night for sure,” Whitaker said. “The last one I went to I remember hearing songs in many different languages, street art in Japanese and comedy.”

To get involved, sign up on the “What’s Happening” board in the BCM or email Anderson at [email protected].

The next and final World Talent Night will happen at 7 p.m. on Monday Nov. 19 at the BCM.

The BCM also has small groups for every student: coed freshman family groups led by an upperclassman “mom” and “dad,” gender-specific community groups for upperclassmen led by a staff or leadership member and small international groups led by students on the international team.

All these groups meet throughout the week at different times and a church service takes place every Thursday at 7:07 p.m.