Issue link: http://ihouse.uberflip.com/i/1319488
Many I-House 2019–2020 residents tuned in from the far reaches of the globe for an end of year celebration and closing virtual program called the "I-House Bon Voyage." Valerie Ong relayed how very important it is to celebrate and mark milestones like the close of the academic year, regardless of how the pandemic has turned everyone's life upside down. Pictured below, residents perform "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, among other memorable and meaningful musical performances. I-House Resident Leaders including Program Assistants and Resident Council members recorded motivational messages to encourage residents to make it to the finish line during finals week, pictured below, left. e resilience and determination of the I-House community is summed up by the 2019–2020 virtual "Final Snap" photo on the front steps. I-House Social Media Ambassador, Chan'Cellore Makanjuola, created an amazing collage of photos sent to her by her fellow residents around the world which illustrates that I-House residents, staff, alumni, and friends really are getting through this together. Read Chan'Cellore's blog post, "A Semester Like No Other: An I-House Berkeley Spring 2020 Recap" on the I-House blog at ihouse.berkeley.edu/blog. International House Times 5 Residents Find a Sense of Purpose in Helping Others Leading by example is an excellent and creative way to serve one's community. Four I-House residents did just that by launching SF Community Support in late March as a way of helping to get those at risk of contracting the virus access to food, medicine, and other necessities by organizing the assistance of volunteers. e team officially started dispatching food package deliveries in mid-April. Clockwise top left: SF Community Support members Marie Rajon Bernard, Toni Adetayo, Nitasha Goyal, and Marcel Schaack. In mid-June, the state of California made wearing masks in public mandatory as a way to ensure public safety. Knowing the difficulty for some resi- dents to obtain masks, one I-House alumna wanted to do something to help. In early June, Grace Hong (IH 2016–19) joined forces with 45 other Taiwanese alumni from I-House Berkeley and I-House New York and raised money to provide residents and staff with masks to help them stay safe from COVID-19 exposure. In a statement to I-House, Grace wrote: "While the pandemic is severe and we are forced to stay home, none of you is left behind. With the I-House spirit in mind, we want to do our best to make you feel our care and support from the other side of the Pacific and strengthen international friendships. Together, we will go through this." I-House Alumni Step Up