On a trifold, juniors Colin Smith and Trysten Torgerson put pictures and descriptions about Sweden’s national parks, the king and islands they learned while researching the country for Beehive Science and Technology Academy’s annual International Cultures Day.

Torgerson said he didn’t know Sweden has a limited constitutional monarchy.

“Sweden is more of a democracy, so the king is more of the face of the country and that’s why many people outside the area don’t know there is a king at all,” he said. 

Smith learned about the country’s 267,570 islands.  

“They have so many islands you can go explore on a day trip,” he said. “In fact, you could go every day to a new island for the rest of your life. The scenery is pretty and they can see the Northern Lights.”

While Smith has Swedish heritage, he hasn’t visited there.

“This is a good way to explore the country and culture. Last year, we did Norway because Trysten is a good bit Norwegian,” he said.

Like other students who had displays about countries, these two had food, Swedish fish— “Interesting fact most people didn’t know is that they did come from Sweden,” Torgerson said —and an artifact, a necklace which has a pendant symbolic to be the weapon that Thor used and is the oldest artifact on display in the country’s capitol. 

Their display was one of about 150 which elementary and secondary students, about one-third wearing traditional dress, shared with one another as well as patrons in the community. The event was optional to students and was organized by the school’s chapter of National Honors Society.

“It’s really fun to learn about cultures,” Smith said. “You walk around, see all these posters, and then experience the culture through their food, random artifacts like money or stuff that people bring. Some dress up in their cultural attire. It’s great to see a glimpse of these different cultures that exists at your school.”

Amongst the displays, there was a Mongolian hat and sheep teeth used to play a game, Pakistani flags, books and necklaces from Kuwait and an Arabic Bible from Lebanon. On the display boards, participants showcased currency, religion, languages and other highlights of the countries they presented.

Torgerson, who said he learned quite a bit about Argentina since that booth was next to theirs, found his way amongst the booths, sampling the food.

“I am a huge fan of the food aspect because I love food and it’s very important in some cultures,” he said. “So getting to be able to try all these different foods is exciting. I got to try some amazing food from Nepal. I tried a Mexican cake and there were macaroons which disappeared quickly. Japan had a whole bunch of different sweets and China had rice crackers and another candy, which was very good. I had English cookies. Somalia had chapati along with traditional rice and meat dish.”

Although he sampled many, Torgerson missed the Uruguay booth’s dulce de leche cake, which won the best food award. 

Other winners included Somalia for the best traditional attire; China, for the best presentation board; Ecuador for the best overall display; and then, all the participants received international candies and a globe pen.

Among the judges were National Honors Society president and senior Angela Govada and vice president and junior Zach Judkins. The two began to shape the event and assist presenters about one month beforehand.

“We start with a presentation explaining the requirements,” said Govada, who as a leader, learned how to best organize the event. “We have a check-in halfway through to see that their poster board is finished and a second checkpoint where everything should be done. Usually, the day before or in the morning, they’ll set up their displays and they’ll bring in their other artifacts or food.”

Under her leadership, National Honors Society held Penny Wars and candy grams fundraisers for other school activities; promoted contributions toward Angel Tree and Christmas Box House; and helped organize Fall Festival.

Govada would like to continue using her knowledge of organizing and managing to study business at the University of Utah this fall.

She’s participated or been a part of International Day for the past six years.

“I like listening to all the tiny little facts that everyone kept sharing because they were just fun, something new, something interesting to keep the attention of the audience,” Govada said. “I loved how everybody seemed connected in that one room learning and following other people’s identities.” 

Judkins, who will be chapter president next year, said there were more participants this year than previously.

“Our school is diverse, so I really find it valuable to shed light on other people’s cultures so they can express their culture and family heritage,” he said. “People get joy out of expressing themselves and having others learn about something that is important to them. Our school displays flags from every country a student represents. It’s something we value.”

His principal, Hanifi Oguz, agrees.

“This is one of the highlights of our global, diverse community,” he said. “We appreciate and recognize this showcase of culture and the opportunity our students have to share their heritage with others on this platform. Beehive Academy has more than 82 unique cultures in its community and community members celebrate this richness in the International Cultures Day event.”

Beehive Academy, which opened in 2005, is a Utah Platinum STEM School and was named Utah Charter School of The Year in 2015. For the past four years, the school has been ranked the No. 1 high school in Utah by U.S. News; received Utah Best of State in public and charter schools 2021-23; Utah Best of State charter school in 2024; and received the Apple Distinguished School last year.