WEM Commits to Diversity and Welcomes New Students with One-of-a-Kind Celebration

August 8, 2024 – The Water Engineering and Management (WEM) program celebrates the diversity and strength of our incoming August ’24 batch of new students with an explosive Freshers’ Welcome dinner party that was graced with the presence of our faculty members, staff members, and senior students. Besides serving as a chance to commemorate the beginning of a new generation of WEM students, this is also a chance to build connections and camaraderie among all attendants.

The event was expertly hosted by Mr. Ashok Bhandari, Master’s Student – August ’23, and Mr. Hoang Minh “Thomas” Nguyen, PhD Candidate – August ’22. We had a chance to not only listen to warmest wishes from our Faculty members, Prof. Sangam Shrestha, Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology, Distinguished Professor Mukand S. Babel, Program Chair Asst. Prof. Mohana S. Shanmugam, and Asst. Prof. Natthachet Tangdamrongsub, but to also enjoy performances from multiple countries, from the proud mountains of Nepal to the pearl islands of the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Many friendships have been initiated and proved to be indispensable to the development and advancement of our members over the course of our Welcome events and this semester’s party was no exception. Culturally appropriate food was enjoyed, and aided life-bonding conversations among WEM’s members, generations, and nationalities. In addition, our party program included fun game and quizzes that were joined by both faculty members and students.

Students also participated in the Junior Representative Selection competition, with contestants coming from the Philippines, Nepal, Indonesia, and Pakistan. We are happy to announce that Mr. Saurav Maharjan from Nepal and Ms. Jannat Murtaza from Pakistan have been selected by their peers to be our Mr. and Miss WEM – August ’24, as they won over the crowd with their hearts, empathy, and kindness. We wish them and all the new students all the best for their upcoming semester, and that they will continue WEM’s tradition of taking care of all juniors and respecting all seniors of our program.

The event was concluded with some concluding remarks from the Senior Student Representative and lead organizer, Mr. Hoang Minh “Thomas” Nguyen, who offered his sincere thanks to the organizing team for their time, effort, and dedication, and best wishes to all those who attended.