I-Club hosts “Pastries and Pancakes” event

LOGAN WENZ
PHOTOGRAPHER

JACK JONES
STAFF WRITER

11/17/2025

On Sunday, Nov. 9, Alma College campus was host to the International Pastries and Pancakes event, put together by Iclub and the International Student Services office. The event invited students from all across campus to attend and sample worldwide pastries while having the chance to connect with Alma College international students and staff. 

The event, which began at 2 p.m. and was hosted in the Tyler Van Dusen Commons, offered an opportunity for the campus to further connect with its international community through trying new international food and meeting with the International Club and the community of global students that Alma is home to. 

The event had pastries from a variety of countries and cultures, including Germany, China, Mexico, Russia and more. The event also introduced some of the attendants to new favorites and allowed them to experience more global foods. 

“My favorite pastry was the sesame seed pancakes from China. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them since the event,” said Paige Kitts (‘28).

The international community at Alma continues to be an important part of the campus fabric, and events such as this one are important to keep local students connected with the students and faculty from international backgrounds. 

Alma College has put an emphasis on international students in recent years, welcoming forty-five international students in 2023 from a variety of countries, a major growth from even ten years ago. 

In the same year, Alma College agreed to collaborative agreements with admissions consulting firms in India for recruiting students, which might eventually lead to faculty exchange as well. This further emphasizes the focus the college is placing on international students and their place on campus. 

The college has also worked to provide a positive experience for these students on campus through events such as the international pastries event, which was recently hosted and I-Clubs’ other events and meetings. The club aims to provide a space for international students to share experiences and resources while being far from home. The club also works to connect students, both local and international, to the Alma community. 

Alma College aims to provide spaces for students of all faiths, and further aims to welcome international students who have different religions. The College has multiple organizations, including Interfaith, which focuses on providing space and celebration for the variety of faiths present on campus and the many celebrations and traditions that those faiths have. This is also connected to the Chapel house, a place in which students involved with the spiritual groups on campus can live together and which can host and support the campus’s various religious organizations. 

Interfaith also hosts events at the chapel regularly, highlighting religious and spiritual experiences and which can provide further support for international students seeking it. 

Events such as the International Pastries event held recently represent an important connection to our international community and the organizations that support them. In turn, those events provide opportunities for local students to support those organizations and the community that they work to support.