Murray High School’s business club students are inviting the community to “Come Share Your Story.”

It’s part of a free diversity dinner, which will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 15 in the commons at Murray High, 5440 S. State St. The community is invited; a RSVP is requested here. An anticipated 150 people are expected to attend, and local government and community leaders are invited. 

Additionally, local businesses can support the diversity dinner by donating through Murray Education Foundation by clicking the donation link at MurrayEducationFoundation.org or by mailing a check to Murray Education Foundation, 5102 S. Commerce Drive, Murray, 84107, and indicating it is to support Murray High business club.

“Diversity is not just about the color of your skin. It's about so many other things, and it's important we all understand that,” Murray High business club co-adviser Kim Batey said.

At Murray High, several student leaders and clubs from Best Buddies to the Queer Straight Alliance to Latinos In Action have stepped up to plan and support the event, business club co-adviser April Warby said.

“The idea is we will sit people with others at a table who they don't know, and throughout the meal, they can respond to different prompts, so they share with other people at their table, and they all get to learn about each other and their cultures,” she said. “In a lot of cultures, eating a meal together is how you become family. We want to respect that, and recognize although we have differences, it's really our similarities which make us unified.”

The prompts give people a chance to know each other, but the last one gives the guests something to ponder.

“The last question is something like ‘think about the magic you discovered today, and how can we take that out into our community and keep it going,’” Batey said.

The event purposely ties into Human Rights Day on Jan. 20 to celebrate those of differing ethnicities, religions, beliefs, abilities and more, said Murray High senior Brett Bostic, who is both a business club and student body officer. He and other club members will write about the diversity dinner for a community service event at the state competition for DECA, an international organization for high school and college students seeking careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, management and entrepreneurship.

But the diversity dinner is more than hosting an event for a competition, he said.

“Diversity dinner is a great opportunity for people to come and learn more about others in the community, to foster genuine, authentic connections and get to know your community,” Bostic said. “In this modern world, we have more ways to connect, but through an event such as the diversity dinner, we get a bit out of our comfort zone, meet new people, experience different cultures and be able to kind of strengthen the community in a way that's holistic and profound. At the same time, you're assisting with a cause greater than yourself.”

Not only is it building a community, he said, but students also plan to help the Utah Refugee Connection with a portion of the profits. 

While Warby said Murray High School, itself, has a lot of diversity, Batey pointed out there is a refugee population living in Murray.

“Murray is good at supporting others within our community, especially with donations staying here to help people locally,” she said. 

Bostic and other students are seeking sponsors for the dinner, reaching out to local businesses. As of early December, they had early commitments from Murray Rotary Club, Moki Pottery and the National Association of Credit Management.

“Our students are learning to be effective businesspeople; they need to work within all sorts of people as a team and learning that in high school is critical,” Batey said.

Additionally, students are learning the process of reaching out and networking for sponsors, marketing, sales, organization skills, tracking documents and sponsorships, coordinating with the Murray Education Foundation, event planning, scheduling, technology and more, she said.

The event is open to people aged 15 and older, as children may not sit with their families. Residents from all neighboring communities are welcome. 

“Students don't have to go to Murray. They can be students from another school. People don't have to live in Murray. It can be businesspeople and community members from all over. We really want this to be a community event,” she said.

Bostic said the diversity dinner may become a regularly scheduled event in upcoming years.

“For a community to thrive, for individuals to have a better life, and a better feeling toward their life, it requires a strong community,” he said. “I hope this will help enable people to eliminate any prejudices or biases that may occur toward others who are different than us, by seeing how diverse and beautiful our community is.” λ