September 15th, 2021 was Heritage Day at Moravian University. 

On this day, students, faculty and staff got to embrace and acknowledge the various unique cultures we have within our community. 

There were many different types of things to learn, to see, and to participate in. When I first walked into Johnston Hall, I saw many tables and heard many lively conversations (and of course, saw President Grisgby and Mo, as well). 

Each table had a certain event attached to it, as well as the seats on the bleachers. I chose to participate in the Monocacy Creek Cleanup, which took place near the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center and Parking Lot X. 

There were multiple speeches about Heritage Day and how the City of Bethlehem is working on becoming a World Heritage site. A few staff members also had inspiring stories to share about how far Moravian University has come since it was founded back in 1742. 

We all participated in bingo, which had many different cities and monuments listed around the world, from the Statue of Liberty in New York City and Machu Picchu in Peru, to the Taj Mahal in India. 

We eventually left to volunteer in our groups, where I cleaned up plastic and glass bottles found along the railroad tracks by the Monocacy Creek and in the creek itself, as well as other assorted trash in the general area. 

In the afternoon, we regrouped at the Makuvek Field where a photographer took our picture as a whole group.

As a freshman, this was my first Heritage Day event, and I enjoyed it very much. I got to learn more about Moravian’s history, the city that I grew up in, as well as how crucial it is for us to recognize the many different cultures in our community. 

I was also very happy to have participated in the cleanup, yet very upset with the number of trash bags we filled up from Monocacy Creek, which could have been from the flooding and storms that occurred within the past week or two. 

It was a great experience overall and I would definitely recommend going to this event to learn more about our community and the many ways we can get involved to help the people and our environment.