Student Council Embarks On Wishes From Abroad Project
By Michelle Nam ’10
News Staff Reporter
On Monday, April 7th and Tuesday, April 8th, Student Council representatives invited Choate students to trace their hands on a banner in the dining hall. The banner was part of the Wishes from Abroad project initiated by the Beijing Olympics Overseas Volunteer Organization (BOOVO).
This colorful banner will be one of the thousands from institutions all across the world sent to hang in a stadium at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Student Council President Katie DeFusco ’09 said, “Students from the Taft School sent Mr. Ford an email—they didn’t know how to contact the student leaders—about this organization called BOOVO (Beijing Olympics Overseas Volunteer Organization) and they wanted to see if Choate was interested in taking part of this Wishes from Abroad program. The members of the Student Council thought it would be something good to do, so we participated.”
The BOOVO website states that its purpose is to raise awareness about two major international events in China—the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo—and to make Chinese culture known to the world. BOOVO is currently the largest volunteer group on facebook, the popular social networking website.
Wishes from Abroad is just one of many projects BOOVO leads. DeFusco said, “I also think Wishes from Abroad is nice because it shows united effort from all different schools around the world.”
Choate and Taft were among the few high schools that participated in the event, which was geared towards university students, according to BOOVO’s facebook page. DeFusco said, “There were many other private schools and colleges that participated, such as University of Louisiana.”
BOOVO is a student-led lead organization. Originally set up by Chinese students Dan Xu and Weiyang Wang, BOOVO rapidly gained the support of Chinese clubs in many American universities.
The Wishes from Abroad project at Choate was led entirely by the Student Council members. DeFusco said, “Mr. Ford did inform us about this, but no teachers or faculty was actually involved. It all happened really quickly—I just got informed a few days ago and I have to send it in by April 9th—but the Choate community really participated and the huge banner was completely filled with student handprints and wishes.”
Through the Wishes from Abroad project, the Choate community has made a stride towards being part of the much anticipated Beijing Olympics. Although there are many controversies surrounding the Beijing Olympics—including the Tibet independence movement—the Wishes from Abroad project has been enthusiastically embraced by Beijing Olympics supporters across the world.
Students hold a banner made for the Wishes from Abroad Project. Contributed Photo
