Breaking Bread: HPI Holds End-of-Year Banquet to Celebrate Community

By Jade Bartnicki, HPI Staff Assistant

On March 20, the Heravi Peace Institute students, faculty, and staff along with Dr. Mehdi Heravi and Dean Joe Ward joined together in a moment of community and celebration. The first-ever “Breaking Bread Banquet” doubled as a recognition of this year’s graduating seniors and a chance to meet fellow HPI students, get to know the core faculty, and build a stronger sense of community.

Before the founding of the Heravi Peace Institute in October 2022, the five certificates now housed under the HPI existed independently. With the creation of the institute, students now have a place where they can make meaningful connections with fellow peacebuilders, seek mentorship from an interdisciplinary group of core faculty, network with alumni, and celebrate one another’s achievements.

Julie Stevens, HPI Board member and Social Work faculty member at USU Ephraim, was a co-organizer of the event. She shared her thoughts on the banquet, noting, “It was enjoyable to talk with students I hadn’t met before and to see how the HPI is giving back to our students and the communities they will impact. ‘Breaking Bread’ [evokes] a wonderful image of community, closeness, and collaboration. These were the things we wanted our students to feel and enjoy. We wanted to celebrate all those who came, those who helped create the opportunities the HPI offers, and those who bring it all together.”

The "Breaking Bread Banquet" will be an annual event that brings the HPI community together and recognizes each year's Heravi Peace Scholars.

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