A newly-revived student group launched this month seeks to represent Eritrean students at the University of Minnesota.
The Eritrean Student Association (EriSA) plans to host cultural events and launch initiatives to support the local Eritrean community.
As described by their webpage, the Eritrean Student Association (EriSA) “strives to embrace Eritrean heritage and culture in all its forms by creating an intellectual, cultural and social environment for students at the University of Minnesota.”
Previous versions of EriSA have existed at the University in past years, but the group had periods of inactivity due to gaps in leadership.
Jasmine Adam is a second-year student majoring in urban studies and geographic information systems who serves as EriSA’s president. About the group’s history, Adam said, “They tried before, many times … in 2011, 2016, 2018.”
This time, Adam said, she and the other founding members will ensure the group’s longevity by instituting systems for the transition of EriSA leadership.
Selam Gerezgiher is a first-year student who intends to major in cinema and media culture. She is a founder of the newly-revived group and serves as its treasurer. Gerezgiher’s sister served on the former EriSA group in 2016 and Gerezgiher said she was excited to re-establish it.
“There’s a group for almost every single East African country,” she said. “I saw a lack of Eritrean representation. I just wanted to create a space for me and my Eritrean friends to have fun on campus and have our chance.”
EriSA’s founders have planned several events for this year and next year. This April, they will host their first event titled “Meet the Culture.” At this event, they will introduce EriSA’s founding members, present on Eritrean culture and lead games and activities for attendees.
“One of the things I’m most excited for is the shadowing opportunities that I’m hoping we can do next year,” Gerezgiher said.
EriSA founding members plan to connect Eritrean high school students with college students across the metro area and eventually offer tutoring services to Eritrean high schoolers and middle schoolers.
“EriSA is a student group for Eritreans at all of the universities in the greater Twin cities, not just our University,” Gerezgiher said.
The founding members’ decision for EriSA to be open to Eritrean students outside of the University is representative of their connection to the local Eritrean community.
“I feel like the Eritrean diaspora in Minneapolis and St. Paul is very connected as a whole,” Adams said.
Milena Yishak, a first-year student majoring in developmental psychology, serves as EriSA’s vice president and its third co-founder.
Yishak, Gerezgiher and Adam cited their deep roots in the Eritrean community as a central motivation for their launching this group.
“Attending soccer club or just going to events in the community or celebrating Independence Day, that’s always been a prominent part of my life,” Yishak said. “So that definitely is the reason why I feel like I’m still in touch with my culture … That’s a driving force of why I wanted to start this group.”
The three co-founders recently gave their first EriSA presentation at the Eritrean Community Center’s annual International Women’s Day celebration. There, they were met with a strong show of support from their community.
After the three founders introduced themselves and their roles on EriSA, “There was a roar, a whole round of applause,” Gerezgiher said. “The whole crowd was just cheering us on.”
