A cohort of twenty three 11th-graders at SMK Negeri 9 Padang had a chance to step into their classroom not as students, but as teachers, during the first week of classes after the Ramadan break.

These students represented the English Event Committee ETA Aurelia Tan started at SMKN 9 for her Community Engagement Project. For three weeks during Ramadan, the English Event Committee met after religious school activities to learn every aspect of event planning—from creating an elevator pitch to promoting a program on social media. The Committee gathered for the express purpose of leading cooking workshops celebrating America250, teaching their peers the history and recipes for making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

The Committee led cooking workshops for all the 11th-grade classes from April 30 to May 2 as guest teachers for SMKN 9’s kokurikuler activities. The cohort of 23 was split into four groups, and each group had to create materials for these three-hour workshops on their own: introductions, icebreakers, presentation on food history, and an activity reviewing relevant vocabulary. Each group consisted of four Hospitality students and two Culinary students. The preparation work was evenly split amongst the group members, but the Hospitality students would take charge of the public-speaking elements while the Culinary students would lead the cooking segment.

These workshops were an absolute hit with both students and teachers. Everyone got a chance to learn something new, but most importantly, try some American comfort food!

Aurelia Tan is currently teaching at SMKN 9 Padang, Sumatera Barat.