CLEVELAND — Hundreds of students and staff joining for an afternoon full of turkey, sparkling champagne and giving thanks at Case Western Reserve University’s Family Thanksgiving.

What You Need To Know

  • Case Western Reserve University hosted its first-ever Family Thanksgiving for students and staff celebrating the holidays away from home.

  • Around 400 students, from international backgrounds and across the country, registered for the event.

  • The university provided traditional cuisine, including turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pumpkin pie and even tofu turkey.

“It’s really nice to be able to still be in the Thanksgiving spirit and be able to eat with everyone,” said Sheetal Tandon.

Tandon is a sophomore studying neuroscience at the university. This year, she is leaving an open seat at her family’s dinner table, joining others on campus in celebrating the holidays away from home. Her peer, Paxton Sandoval, is also sharing a slice of life with the Case Western family.

“I think it’s about coming together and celebrating,” Sandoval said. “Just being thankful for everything, for being able to come to a school like this and take part in an education. It’s just it’s amazing.”

Tandon, who was is from Seattle, Washington, said she’s excited to taste traditional American cuisine on Thanksgiving for the first time.

“I’m Indian, so I don’t have traditional Thanksgiving, so I’m excited to have actual Thanksgiving food for once,” she said.

Sandoval said her family lives in Colorado, and these dishes are a reminder of home.

“My family’s Mexican, so it’s usually like the normal Thanksgiving foods, turkey and stuff, but then we’ll make green chile. We’ll have tamales,” Sandoval said.

Whether it’s a family custom of their first time celebrating, Joy K. Ward, provost and executive vice president at Case Western, said it’s about building connections on campus.

“President Kaler and I thought it was very important that we have an event where we can bring students together and allow them to experience a Thanksgiving tradition where we can be together as a Case Western Reserve University family,” she said.

Travis Apgar, vice president for student affairs at the university, said it’s their first family-style dinner on Thanksgiving, but it won’t be their last.

“We had almost 400, that registered,” he said. “We really thought, ‘So this is the first year if we had a couple of hundred, we’d be lucky,’ and so clearly we’re ecstatic that we’re going to have that many.”

Helping students and staff share the Thanksgiving spirit.

“I know there’s so many international students here and so many people that can’t go home,” Sandoval said. “So it’s nice being able to be here as a family of our own.”