Members of the matcha stand make orders at the SEA you outside event, on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in Houston, Texas. | Gillian Wisniewski/The Cougar
Students of East Africa held its first SEA You Outside event on Sept. 8 in Lynn Eusan Park from 4 to 8 p.m., hosting over 14 student organizations and four vendors for an open-air block party.
“The goal is bringing together different African diasporas on campus to increase our global community,” said SEA President and business information systems sophomore Rehanna Adam. “With this event, what we did was reach out to a bunch of different orgs on campus, and then we also reached out to different black-owned vendors, with the hope of encouraging community.”
Student organizations present at the event included the National Society of Black Engineers, PowerInHer Health and the National Society of Black Women in Medicine.
“We’ve made a lot of connections with people who are interested in the pre-health career field,” said NSBWM President and biochemistry junior Adaora Mordi. “We’ve been able to connect them with our Instagram and GroupMe for more updates on what we have to offer in the future and it seems like it’s going to be a pretty fun semester.”
The heavy foot traffic at the event has helped with promotion, Mordi said and even attracted people who weren’t interested in pre-med to NSBWM.
Students also had the opportunity to enjoy drinks and snacks from vendors like Matcha Morena.
“I heard Matcha Morena was coming and I love her matcha, so I came specifically for her, but I knew there was going to be good energy regardless if it was here,” said public health junior Isabela Lopez.
Adam hopes to turn it into an inaugural, community-focused event, especially for commuters who might feel disconnected from others on campus.
“I want the student body to really understand that community is the most valuable thing that you can find in college,” Adam said. “Obviously, school is why we’re here. But it starts to feel really empty and lonely when you don’t care about the community you’re building around you. And it takes effort, it takes time, but it’s worth it.”
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