Longest Table Debuts at CUIMC

Sixty-five students from across CUIMC lunched together on Jan. 29 at a Longest Table event organized by Student and Campus Services.

The Longest Table is a global initiative that brings communities together to share a meal, creating space for strangers to become friends and neighbors to feel like family.

“We want our students to get to know each other and connect,” says Mario Rapetti, executive director of housing services at CUIMC. “We learned about the Longest Table online and thought it would be a great way to strengthen our community by creating moments of connection and fostering a more inclusive and supportive CUIMC experience.”

Students from all CUIMC schools were invited to enter the Longest Table lottery and 140 applied. Sixty-five students were chosen and joined by several faculty and staff. Lunch was provided by the Faculty Club.

“As a biostatistics student, I spend most of my time with my peers within the department, so it was refreshing to connect with students from other fields and hear what they’re working on and what brought them to CUIMC,” says Xiaoni Xu, a biostatistics student in the Mailman School of Public Health. “I learned about someone's one-year field work experience in the Amazon and their journey to CUIMC as a medical student.”

Florent Pollet, a biomedical informatics student in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, appreciated how the event made the CUIMC campus feel less anonymous and more vibrant. “It was a nice break from studies to sit down, share a meal, and simply talk with people outside my usual circle,” Pollet says. “I loved meeting students from different schools and also connecting with administrators in such a relaxed, human setting. It made CUIMC feel more personal and welcoming. The food (especially the desserts!) made everything even better.”

CUIMC faculty and staff participated for similar reasons. “I lead commencement planning for our campus. We produce this momentous week for the graduates, but I rarely interact with them,” says Tina Hansen, senior director of CUIMC Events.

“I sat with two incredible first-year students from the Mailman School and School of Nursing. We ended the lunch talking about the importance of friendship, especially in periods of transition. It had the surprising effect of making me feel better about the future and brought back some joy for the work that I do.”

Overall, the response from participants has been incredibly enthusiastic, says Diana Mejia, vice president of student and campus services at CUIMC, and similar events are being considered for the future.

“The Longest Table reflects our commitment to dialogue, belonging, and the power of listening,” Mejia says. “By bringing students, faculty, and staff together across CUIMC’s schools and programs, events like this create space for meaningful connection and shared conversation that strengthen our campus community as a whole.”