Divided By Water, United by Culture: The ERAU Caribbean Students’ Association

ARTICLE BY AGATHE EMERAN / Correspondent

PHOTOS BY ERAU CARIBBEAN STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

DESIGN BY DYLAN KOWLESSAR / Editor-in-Chief

Founded in 1988, the Caribbean Students’ Association (CSA) was one of the first black organizations to be founded on campus. After 35 years of being on campus, the CSA is proud to continue its founders’ legacy.

Many people may know CSA for Taste the Caribbean, better known as Jerk Wednesday, but the organization does more than that. Every Thursday, the organization has its general body meeting, allowing students from different cultures to come together and educate each other about different cultures, announce different scholarships and internships, taste different Caribbean foods, and play interactive games: dominoes, spades, trivia games, and many more. Members have described the organization as “a home away from home” and “their second family” because they can come together and feel a sense of home while studying at Embry-Riddle.

To aid in this and build a strong family, CSA aims to have get-togethers throughout each semester. Some ideas include organizing beach days with CSAs from different schools, hosting a Halloween party, participating in volunteer/community service activities, attending the Florida Caribbean Students’ Association Annual Retreat and Leadership Conference, selecting a Miss ERAU CSA, and much more.

In the past year, the ERAU CSA has grown close bonds with the CSA organizations at Bethune-Cookman University, Stetson University, and the University of Central Florida due to being members of the Florida Caribbean Students’ Association (FCSA), which encompasses the various CSA organizations throughout Florida and other states. These newly formed bonds have helped many ERAU members meet their fellow peers with similar interests. These connections allowed for collaborations, such as organizing beach days with other schools. Collaborations are an excellent opportunity for the schools to spend a day together, have fun, and unwind from school.

At the FCSA Leadership Conference hosted in March by the University of South Florida, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s CSA was named the School of the Year due to the organization’s stellar participation and involvement in activities this year. These include attending the annual FCSA Retreat, hosted in November by Embry-Riddle, community service and social media challenges, and the various events hosted by ERAU CSA. In addition, Coral Scotland, who represented the island of Antigua and Barbuda, placed Second Runner Up in the Miss FCSA pageant. Two other members, GeQuan Thompson from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Angel Williamson from the Bahamas, were elected as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively, on the 2023-2024 FCSA Executive Board.

As the school year is nearing a close, we want to thank all our members for a memorable school year, and many thanks to the executive board members. Thank you to President Agathe Emeran, VicePresident Michael Dow Jr., Treasurer Aleemah Ghany, Secretary Steffan Nunes, Public Relations Officer Elisha Bruney, Event Coordinator Eriel Williams, Delegate Jahi Roberts, and our past Presidents Danielle Rosales and Felina Chotoo for all the hard work you have done for the organization!

CSA will always have its door open to anyone interested in joining and becoming a part of the famalay!