The Multi-Cultural Awareness Fashion Show, which took place on April 18, 2025, was one of UHS’s annual Cultural Awareness Week events. The show brought together student models from different cultural backgrounds to appreciate, educate and promote diversity. 

This year’s showcase featured countries such as Russia, Mexico, China, Korea, India, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, the Philippines, Mongolia and Vietnam. 

Junior Sodongoo Sodtuya was responsible for overseeing the event from start to finish as the lead organizer. Coordinating with over 50 models, she handled various logistics such as the runway setup and music while managing communication between students and faculty. In addition to these tasks, as an experienced model, she utilized her knowledge to step in as the modeling coach for the student models. Sodtuya also created choreography for the runway and assisted in training the models on timing, stage presence and transitions. 

Sodtuya also represented Mongolia and walked with pride, representing the heart of Mongolia’s royal history in a richly adorned gown made from luxurious fabrics. 

“Knowing I was representing not just my culture, but a part of the world’s only three million people, made it feel even more meaningful,” Sodtuya said. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t just about fashion, it was about bringing people together and showing that unity and diversity can go hand in hand.” 

Junior Thuong Pham, one of the student models, entered the stage wearing the ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress known for its graceful silhouette. Accompanying her were lion dancers, a beloved depiction of the symbolic performing art in Vietnam believed to bring good luck and chase away evil spirits.  

“The elegance and color express the amount of energy it has in a simple design,” Pham said. 

Many students felt more connected to their cultures after watching the show. 

“I was excited to see my culture being represented at UHS,” senior Jenny Nguyen said. “UHS tends to be very focused on academic enrichment, so I think having events like these is a good reminder for students to appreciate each other’s unique backgrounds.” 

South Korea was represented by senior Ashton Baek, who wore a traditional hanbok for his runway debut. 

“I was definitely a bit nervous,” Baek said. “But I was representing something beyond just myself, so I felt that I had some responsibility to do my best.” 

Experienced or not, each student representative successfully brought their story, energy and cultural pride to the runway.