Team Moody educated Airmen about various cultures and honored their contributions during a Diversity Day, Sept. 29, here.

Over 500 people sought out the cultural impacts of many groups such as those studying African American history, disability employment, Hispanic heritage and LGBT.

“The vast diversity of the Air Force is what makes us great,” said Col. Jennifer Short, 23d Wing commander. “It goes beyond gender, culture and race. It’s our diversity of thought that’s the most unique. People from different backgrounds bring different experiences and we can all learn from that and look at things a different way from just talking to the person and seeing where they’re coming from.”

Along with honoring cultural diversity, the event exposed Airmen to the qualities that make cultures unique.

“My main goal for Diversity Day was to educate and entertain at the same time, and I want to make sure that everyone walked away with at least one new piece of knowledge about another ethnic culture,” said Jacqueline Hall, Equal Opportunity office director. “Everyone’s culture has its unique characteristics and traditions and in order to fully understand a culture you need to be made aware of them.”

During the event, Airmen like Senior Airman Kevin Mccoy, 23d Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals technology journeyman, had his eyes opened to cultures within the Air Force they’ve never been enlightened to.

“I learned some cool things today about different cultures that I never knew about,” said Mccoy. “I’ve never been exposed to some of the cultures that were present here today and I feel uplifted to now see for myself how diverse the Air Force really is.”

Diversity Day also featured taiko drummer performances from the Tampa Taiko Drummers along with Latin dancing demonstrations from Moody volunteers

“We really enjoyed being able to come out here, show off our skills and demonstrate our culture’s unique style,” said Kyle Collins, Tampa Taiko drummer. “To come and see all of the many cultures and different ways of life displayed here today, was truly a blessing.”

Attendants learned about a wide array of cultural aspects through booths that were present all over the event.

“The purpose of Diversity Day was to ensure that we recognized and celebrated the contributions of all of our Americans, military personnel and their family members,” said Hall. “We had displays throughout to rejoice each and every cultural observance. We have Airmen from all ethnic backgrounds you can think of and we want to make sure they all get the attention they deserve.”