ASA Conference a success

The Minnesota Africa Student Association Conference took place Saturday, Oct. 28 and it was an extravaganza of enticing actives that left all who attended feeling inspired and ingenious.

The event began with the welcome night on Friday, where keynote speaker Daniel Oyinloye was spectacular at breaking the ice and getting students from various universities interacting with one another. A lip-sync competition also took place on Friday, which was just an appetizer for the activities that took place on Saturday.
The first activity held on Saturday, Cards for Kids, was an event where students showcased their creativity in making cards to uplift the spirits of children worldwide. All the cards made were exquisite.

The leadership workshop followed that event and was also conducted by the keynote speaker; it was highly interactive. Oyinloye built on what he had talked about the previous day and made the session exciting by getting the students to partake in a small activity. One of his main teachings on leadership was training you to be a better human being.

There was a smooth transition from the volunteer activity to the soccer tournament where Minnesota State University, Mankato faced off against St. Cloud University in the final match. MSU, Mankato emerged triumphant and went on to the Battle of the Africa Student Associations with some points as the soccer tournament counted as part of the overall competition in the Battle of the ASAs.

The main attraction the Battle of the ASAs was superb in every aspect from the melodious songs performed to the vibrant dances that rocked the stage. Every university invited to the event poured their heart out on the stage for each category; however, only one university could be crowned winner. MSU, Mankato’s performance in every single category was truly flawless and the university’s ASA was finally crowned the winners of the Battle of the ASAs 2017 competition.

The turnout for this event was amazing and people got to connect, network and share African culture with one another. The atmosphere at the event kept buzzing late into the night as the MSU, Mankato ASA celebrated their victory. This event has hopefully set a foundation for various Minnesota ASA Conferences to be held in the future as it was without a doubt a magnificent event.