KDI School of Public Policy and Management is a place of unity in diversity. The students in KDIS come with diverse educational, professional and cultural backgrounds from different parts of the world. One of the recent events was the witness of such diversity. The first-ever Gala Night was organized by students and held on August 8, 2022. It was a social event in which both domestic and international graduating and continuing students came together to celebrate the end of their studies at the School. Besides, the event was an opportunity for network building for the continuing students, at same time, it was a last chance for graduating students to have a memorable night with their friends.

Indeed, the program was full of fun moments for the participants. It began with the congratulatory speech by the Associate Dean of KDIS, Professor Dongseok Kim. The speech was followed by an amazing musical performance and other entertainment, including Karaoke, live games, dancing and fun-awards. 

The program would not have been as successful and fun without the immense effort of the main committee and volunteers. One of the main committee members was Mayurika Dulanjani. She was one of the award receivers for student community service during the completion ceremony on August 8, 2022. Mayurika Dulanjani, as main organizer of the Gala Night, said that “The motivation behind organizing the Gala Night was to provide a last opportunity for graduating students to say their farewells to the friends they made at KDI before moving on to the next phases of their lives. By making the event a formal occasion, we also gave students the opportunity to get dressed up and experience a different environment from the day-today life at KDI School. Most importantly we wanted to congratulate the completing students and give them one last memorable night at KDI School.” 

Furthermore, she expressed that although there were many minor details to pay attention to, the event wouldn’t have been possible without the effort of each and every organizing committee member and the help of the volunteers. We would also like to sincerely thank Ms. Minji Kim and other Student Affairs staff members who helped us with the execution of the event. Despite this being the first KDIS Gala Night, it was very rewarding to see the final result of how the event turned out and seeing people enjoy the evening.” Mayurika Dulanjani hopes that the KDIS Gala Night will continue to be held as an annual event at KDI School, and she encourages the continuing students to come-up with creative ideas and propose to Student Affairs to execute the event. 

Another volunteer at the event was Farah Nabilla Putri from Indonesia, pursuing a Master of Development Policy at KDIS. She believes that “The Gala Night was an event ‘for students - from students', which would not have been possible without the support of our school, especially the Student Affairs”. She also expressed that “Despite most of the volunteers being graduating students who had to attend the graduating ceremony in the morning and had limited time for preparation, the volunteers were able to decorate the hall perfectly. Since it was the first Gala ever held, it is undeniable that there were some shortcomings, however, all the shortcomings were addressed promptly by the main committee and volunteers. I learned a lot from my colleagues; they were creative and agile, from managing a tight schedule, dealing with problems, and being responsible towards the end, the Gala Night volunteers were the colleagues that I admire working with.”

The event was also full of joy and memorable moments for the participants as well. One of the graduating students said that “I will always remember the Gala Night for it is great entertainment, music, dance, food and specially seeing my class fellows in formal dress.” He also expressed his appreciation to the organizing committee and School for arranging such event. Similarly, Annisa S. Rini, one of the continuing students, said that “Gala Night was an excellent event to strengthen relationships between the students, to know more about each other, and get closer with friends, both those still staying in Korea or departing to their countries. I saw the students' excitement toward the event by preparing and wearing their best clothes and make-up”. She further emphasized that “My favorite part of the event was the Open Dance Floor,” and she thanked the committee and the volunteers who prepared and organized the first ever KDIS Gala Night. She is looking forward to the next gala night in December. 

Indeed, overall the event was full of excitement, joy and memories for both graduating and continuing students. KDI School of Public Policy and Management is always open to student proposals for similar events to strengthen the relationships among the students at School.