Saena Dozier Awarded Microgrant for Somali ‘Togetherness’ Project

Language Center Student Engagement & Development Specialist Saena Dozier  was awarded a university Microgrant for her project entitled “Empowering Wadajiraka (Togetherness): TandemPlus Togetherness Campaign with the Somali Community.”

Through this project, Saena will lead an initiative to raise community awareness and appreciation of the Somali community's cultural significance in Minnesota, with the goal of fostering an inclusive culture on campus that celebrates our many Somali heritage students, faculty, and staff colleagues.

The campaign will showcase an in-person cultural event curated by prominent local leader Mohamed Ahmed, President of the Kayd Foundation, an institution whose mission is to forge strong and thoughtful bonds within the Somali community and inspire a deep appreciation for its diversity of rich cultural heritage. During the event, participants will have the chance to engage with traditional Somali games and folk dancing, sample authentic Somali cuisine, and even learn some phrases in Somali language from Director of Somali Language Instruction Khadar Jama.

The event hopes to provide a moment of profound connection between the University of Minnesota and Minnesota’s local Somali community. Hambalyo weyn, Saena!