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A spirit that is not afraid

MPA students raise money for Liberian NGO through international cook-off

More Than Auburn, a service organization for students in Auburn’s masters of public administration, hosted Master Chef Cook-Off in the Eagle’s Nest on Thursday evening.

“We were talking about how everyone is from different countries and sometimes people miss home,” said Alyse Scott, president of More Than Auburn and a graduate student in Auburn’s MPA program. “We just came up with the idea of, ‘Why don’t we highlight all the different food from the countries that people are from?'”

Students and faculty who attended were able to try a variety of food cooked by Tiger Dining including recipes provided by the club's members. The food served included Nutella crepes from France, jollof rice from Africa and chicken 65 from India.

“I’ve had most of [this food] but not all of it,” said Nicholas Lothrop, senior in biomedical sciences. “I haven’t voted yet, but I’m probably going to vote for the chili.”

Attendees voted on their favorite dish, and at the end of the cook-off, chicken 65 from India won the fan favorite award.

The event was sponsored by Auburn Global and Auburn’s department of political science. Funding raised by the event went to Bosh Bosh, a Liberian non-governmental organization.

“[Bosh Bosh] offers scholarships for girls," said Charlene Espinoza, founder of Bosh Bosh. "That is sort of our main mission, but we’re doing that through our products, so there’s also a social enterprise element to it.” 

Espinoza, who spoke at the cook-off, said the scholarships go toward paying for tuition, providing school supplies and funding the tutoring program Bosh Bosh offers.

Some of Bosh Bosh’s products including handbags and jewelry were on sale at the cook-off.


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“Those are items made by girls and women from [Bosh Bosh]," said Gabriel Bassey, a recent graduate of Auburn’s MPA program. "Those proceeds will go to educating those girls and women to have better lives.” 

Bassey said the purpose of the event was about giving back. The event raised over a $1,000 in donations for Bosh Bosh. The cook-off served as the final event for Auburn MPA’s service program week.

“[Master Chef Cook-Off] was fantastic,” said Mary-Catherine Pitmanwe, an MPA student. "[It] had a great turn-out even though it was a little rainy outside tonight. ... It was a great [way] to end our public service week.”


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