The Albanian Student Organization (ASO) hosted its first Albanian Independence Day event on Thursday, Nov. 14.
ASO adorned Bethany Hall with Albanian flags to welcome their guests. While Albanian Independence Day is on Nov. 28, parents, faculty, and visitors filled the room with laughter and pride as they gathered together to celebrate two weeks early.
Arlind Kalaba, a senior finance and marketing major and ASO’s treasurer said Albanian Independence Day celebrates Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918.
“It’s our first time since the Empire since we had our own nation,” Kalaba said. “Albania has been around since the 1400s and has been constantly subject to wars in the Balkans.”
ASO wanted to celebrate how much Albania has experienced and proudly display different aspects of its culture.
Albanian music blared throughout the room. Traditional dance performances were lively and full of energy, and traditional Albanian food was served to over 200 people in attendance.
Nancy Kajo, a political science and Catholic studies major in the 3+3 law program and president of ASO, started planning the event over three months ago. She said she planned the event alongside other executive board members because she felt there is a small population of Albanians on Seton Hall’s campus.
“It’s a big day for all of us around the world,” Kajo said. “We know how hard our ancestors worked, and how much it took for us to gain our independence so we truly celebrate it—celebrate our heritage.”
It has only been a year since she developed ASO. When Kajo was a freshman last year, she said she noticed how Seton Hall had many different cultural organizations, but not one for Albanians.
“I was always super involved in high school with my roots,” Kajo said. “I wanted to find something that was special to me at Seton Hall.”
Kajo said she had already met some Albanians on campus but was surprised to find there was no organization for them. After meeting someone in DOVE who told her she could start her club, she started reaching out to fellow Albanian students, sending interest forms and DMs about creating the first Albanian organization on campus, which she said “got a lot of interest.’
“Nancy reached out to me and a couple of others,” said Arlind Kalaba, a senior finance and marketing major and ASO’s treasurer. “We ended up becoming executives because we were the first ones she reached out to, and we were the most active in responding to her and wanting to get this organization on its feet.”
Sylvia Bojkovic, a senior social behavior science major on the occupational therapy track, and ASO’s public relations chair, said that Kajo reached out to her through Instagram, as she had an Albanian eagle in her bio.
“[Nancy] had messaged probably every Albanian on Seton Hall’s campus, and we all came together,” Bojkovic said. “We all kind of fell into place after that.”
In the spring semester, Kajo and the executive board got approval from the Student Government Association, making them an official organization. With Albanian Independence Day, Kajo said she knew she had to do something different for the holiday, as it would be the first time it’s celebrated on Seton Hall’s campus.
Kajo, alongside Arta Bojevic, a junior biochemistry major and the event coordinator, started planning the event. Bojevic said it was a team effort.
“We couldn't have done it without each other,” Bojevic said.
Kajo said a part of her goal in planning this event was to collaborate with other Albanians in New York and New Jersey.
“I invited other Albanian clubs from other colleges, specifically from Princeton, Rutgers, St. Francis, St. John's, Manhattan University, as well as like other nonprofit organizations such as the Port Authority, police department,” Kajo said. “The oldest Albania newspaper actually came, and they actually wrote an article about our event too.”
Dancers also came and performed, from the Albanian Cultural Center in Riverdale.
Bojevic said as an executive board, ASO decided they would donate 100% of the proceeds.
“I think our mindset was if we were able to bring everyone together, why not donate all that money to a good cause?” Bojevic said.
Bojkovic said the proceeds would go to schools in Vlore, Albania to help children’s education. She said it is something the executive board holds very dear to them.
“Obviously, education is very important,” Bojkovic said. “None of us would know each other without our education, so being able to do that for other people in our home country is just amazing.”
Kajo said she will be hand-delivering school supplies and essential items to Vlore, Albania in March, over spring break.
“I didn’t want to keep anything to be really profited off of,” Kajo said. “I wanted everything to go to something that’s meaningful.”
This will not be the last of ASO’s Albanian Independence Day celebrations. Kajo said she wants to do it all again next year.
“I want to bring the same people back every year, more student organizations back every year,” Kajo said. “I want us to be known as the club that does this huge event.”
Dominique Mercadante is the head editor for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. She can be reached at dominique.mercadante@student.shu.edu.
