When in-person events started happening again after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U-M Club of Taiwan was looking for a way to draw people to its annual meeting.
The club typically met in January, but new board members proposed moving it to November and having a traditional Thanksgiving meal to remind the group of their time in the United States.”
At first, I think I just wanted to have turkey,” says executive board member Annie Chang, ’98, laughing.
Chang came to the U.S. for boarding school at 14 years old, where she experienced Thanksgiving and turkey for the first time and fell in love with the tradition. She returned to Taiwan in 2002.
“It reminds me of my time in the States,” she says about the holiday. “Getting together with friends, family, and spending time together.”
About 40 people turned out in early December for the club’s annual meeting and Thanksgiving feast in Taipei. The dinner was complete with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, ham, a salad bar, and other fixings.
While the turnout was large, about 90 people attended in 2023 when the event coincided with the U-M vs. Ohio State football game.
“We’ve had really good turnouts,” Chang says. “People enjoy bringing their family out.”
U-M Club of Taiwan, which is one of several international clubs, hosts events throughout the year including game watch parties, networking events, and other special one-off events.
Chang says they had a family day in 2024 where there was a fun run, basketball, and a buffet.
Other events include a talk from an alum about artificial intelligence, renting out a movie theater for a movie night, and happy hours with other Big Ten alumni groups, as they did recently with a club from the University of Southern California.
“Next year, we might do more happy hours with other Big Ten schools,” she says. “It’s always good to connect.”
Jeremy Carroll is the senior content strategist for the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.
