When McCormick first-year William Ly was asked to perform at Thai Night, his answer was yes.
Fresh off of playing the saxophone at the Vietnamese Cultural Show in April, Ly’s performance at events like Thai Night — hosted Saturday night in Deering Library by the Thai Student Association — held more significance than a mere guest appearance.
Having been “half raised” by his parents’ close Thai friends, he said he grew up as immersed in Thai traditions as he was in his own Vietnamese and Chinese cultures, which is what led him to serenade a packed room.
“I grew up in an area where there wasn’t a lot of Asian representation, so having these things here means a lot,” Ly said. “I can share what I know at home, and it’s the way to represent what I’ve lived.”
In addition to Ly’s saxophone performance of “I Like You The Most” by PONCHET featuring VARINZ, the event also featured other musical performances, free food, Moo Deng plushie prizes, a papaya salad-making table, crafts and games area and a station for Muay Thai, or Thai boxing.
ThaiSA Publicity Chair and Communication sophomore Asiana Spaw helped with various stations, such as a paper lantern making table and a fashion show.
Spaw said joining ThaiSA as a first-year student was a way to get involved in her community on campus and learn more about her culture as someone who was raised in the U.S.
“Most of the club is international, like grew up in Bangkok,” Spaw said. “It has been nice, especially for me, to get to know other Thai people and start to learn a little bit more.”
Weinberg sophomore Caleb Eng helped run the Muay Thai station, where he and two other students taught participants different types of kicks and hits.
He said even though the Muay Thai group is not an official NU student organization, it was invited back for its second year at Thai Night as one of the main activities.
“I’m not Thai and I really do come here for Muay Thai,” Eng said. “But it is so cool to see all of these students gather here together just to celebrate Thai culture, and (I’m) so happy that we could be a part of that.”
Weinberg sophomore Ainée Wittayathawornwong, ThaiSA’s 2025-26 external president, said the event gives her space to be the “Thai-est” she can be at NU. She said she hopes to spread her pride for Thai culture and love within the Thai community to others.
She also said she hopes ThaiSA and events like Thai Night can be a safe space for both international and Thai American students on campus to come together and celebrate their culture.
“I see faces that I haven’t seen in so long,” Wittayathawornwong said. “We’re very small here, but then this is the day that we are all here together, and being able to do something collectively is a good feeling.”
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