O‘zbekiston Talabalar Assotsiatsiyasi — Arizona shtat universiteti
We are the Uzbek Students Association at ASU: a student-run home for Uzbek students and anyone curious about our language, history and food. A full calendar of events, from Nowruz on Tooker Lawn to Monday game nights in Lantana Hall.
No membership duesOpen to all ASU studentsAffiliated with El-Yurt Umidi Foundation
0Students reachedat the 1001 Nights festival, April 2025
0Funding securedfrom USG, ISSC Poly and ISSC Tempe
0Events hostedsince the grand opening in October 2024
0Nowruz guestsstudents and faculty at Nowruz 2025
Who we are
A club built by scholars, for the whole campus.
UZSA was founded in 2024 by El-Yurt Umidi Foundation scholars studying at ASU. Our constitution sets out three purposes — and every event we run answers to one of them.
PURPOSE / 01
Unite Uzbek students
Improve the campus experience for Uzbek students through social and tabling events that make ASU feel less far from home.
PURPOSE / 02
Promote cultural awareness
Share the history, language and traditions of Uzbekistan — from Alisher Navoiy's poetry to how you actually cook plov.
PURPOSE / 03
Build community
Bring Uzbek students and the wider Sun Devil community together through cultural, educational and social programming all year.
We started as a handful of Uzbek students on the Polytechnic campus who wanted somewhere to mark Uzbek Language Day together. Two weeks later we held our grand opening in the Cooley Ballroom, and we have not stopped since — a monthly calendar of culture days, game nights, cooking days and tabling, plus the two festivals that now define our year.
In March 2026 UZSA led ASU's largest Nowruz celebration to date on Tooker Lawn, working with the Kazakh, Turkic, Turkish and Azerbaijani student organizations, the Russian Conversation Club and the International Students and Scholars Center. A month earlier we shared Uzbek dance, dress and history with roughly 4,000 students at the university's 1001 Nights festival.
Everything we run is free. There are no dues, and you do not need to be Uzbek — a good share of the people at our tables came for the plov and stayed for the language lessons.
The archive
Everything we've hosted, 2024 – 2026.
Two academic years of flyers, festivals and free food. Click any flyer to see it full size.
Signature
21 March 2026 · Tooker Lawn
Nowruz 2026
ASU's largest Nowruz yet — a daylong festival UZSA led with the Kazakh, Turkic, Turkish and Azerbaijani student organizations, the Russian Conversation Club and ISSC. Sumalak, a chess tournament, tug-of-war and a full stage program.
Around 4,000 students and 30+ cultural clubs. UZSA brought national dress, dance, instruments and a table of Uzbek craft — plus a drone show, fashion show and stage performances across the evening.
Signature
21 March 2025 · ASU
Nowruz 2025
Over 300 students and faculty joined our first big Nowruz, hosted with the Kazakh, Azerbaijani and other Central Asian student organizations: chess, tug-of-war, table tennis, live dombra and doira, and gifts of qurut, pistachios and books.
2024 – 25
Fall
14 Oct 2024
Monday Game Night
Monopoly and free food on the second floor of Lantana Hall — the first event we ever ran.
Lantana Hall
23 Oct 2024
Uzbek Language Day
Marking 35 years of Uzbek as the state language. Students learned around 100 Uzbek words and were pointed to ASU's own Uzbek course.
MCOE, Polytechnic · 5–7 PM
28 Oct 2024
Grand Opening Ceremony
The club's official launch: presentations, arm wrestling, tug-of-war, Uzbek songs and a table of food.
Cooley Ballroom, Polytechnic
8 Nov 2024
Uzbek Game Night
An evening of narde (backgammon) and qurut for the first ten students to RSVP.
Polytechnic
18 Nov 2024
Uzbek Flag Day
Raising the flag on campus with presentations, arm wrestling and incentives for everyone who came.
Polytechnic
25 Nov 2024
Uzbekistan Culture Day
Presentations on the range of Uzbek culture, a tug-of-war tournament, national dishes and games — our biggest fall turnout.
Polytechnic
28 Dec 2024
End of Year Retreat
Games, incentives and a look back at the club's first semester.
Century Hall 141
2024 – 25
Spring
14 Jan 2025
Defenders of the Motherland Day
Honouring those who have served, with inspiring stories and a meal together.
MCOE, Polytechnic · 4:30–6 PM
31 Jan 2025
Memory of Islam Karimov
A short reflection on Uzbekistan's first president and the country's path to independence.
Polytechnic
9 Feb 2025
Alisher Navoiy Day
Poetry readings and discussion of the father of Uzbek literature and his influence on Turkic verse.
Lantana Hall
14 Feb 2025
Bobur Day
Zahiriddin Muhammad Bobur — founder of the Mughal Empire, diarist, and one of our favourite arguments.
Polytechnic
18 Mar 2025
Plov Cooking Day
Cooking Uzbek pilaf from scratch in the Lantana Hall kitchen — come hungry, leave able to make it.
Lantana Hall kitchen
20 Mar 2025
Uzbek Dress Day
Chapan, do'ppi and ikat on the mall, with snacks and an invitation to the next day's Nowruz.
Tempe
21 Mar 2025
Nowruz 2025
300+ guests, six partner organizations, live dombra and doira, and sumalak for the new year.
ASU
Mar 2025
Eid al-Fitr
Marking the end of Ramadan together — food, company and a full table.
Polytechnic
12 Apr 2025
1001 Nights Festival
Our table among 30+ cultural clubs, in front of roughly 4,000 students — the largest audience we've ever had.
ASU
2025 – 26
Fall & Spring
21 Mar 2026
Nowruz 2026
Seven hours on Tooker Lawn with six partner organizations and ISSC — the biggest Nowruz ASU has held.
Tooker Lawn, Tempe · 2–9 PM
Spring 2026
ISSC Café Central Asia
Our session in the ISSC café series: a table of Uzbek books, crafts and photographs, and an hour of questions from international students.
ISSC · ASU
2025 – 26
Central Asian Welcome
A joint welcome for Central Asian students at the ASU amphitheatre — country presentations under all of the flags, hosted with the region's student organizations.
ASU Amphitheatre
Monthly
Game & Culture Nights
Narde, chess, Monopoly and food, rotating between the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses.
Tempe & Polytechnic
Ongoing
Culture Days & Festivals
Flag Day, Language Day, Navoiy and Bobur days, plov cooking and the giant chess board — the calendar repeats, bigger each year.
ASU
Photographs
What it actually looks like.
Nowruz, 1001 Nights, tug-of-war and the giant chess set. Click any photo to open it.
Uzbek Cultural Day · ASU1001 Nights · Apr 20251001 Nights · the tableCentral Asian WelcomeCulture Day · Nov 2024The year in four framesNowruz · after darkGame night1001 Nights · sunset1001 NightsCampus lifeISSC Café Central Asia
Leadership
The 2026 – 27 executive board.
Officers are elected by active members each spring. Any member in good standing can run — including you, next year.
RJ
Rukhshona Jakbaralieva
President
Leads the organization, represents UZSA to the university, and has final say on where the year goes.
JK
Javohir Khudoyberdiev
Vice-President
Runs the leadership team day to day, books campus space, and steps in for the president.
NS
Nilufar Shodiyorova
Director of Finance
Owns the budget: purchase requests, business meal forms and every receipt behind the free food.
AI
Amirshoh Irgashev
Director of Marketing
Makes the flyers you have been scrolling past, shoots the events, and runs @uzsa_asu.
AU
Asror Uralov
Co-founder
Co-founded UZSA and co-organized the first Nowruz festivals — still one of the people who make the big events happen.
AR
Asadbek Ruziev
Founder · Former Vice-President · Student Advisor
Founded UZSA in 2024 and served as vice-president; now advises the board on funding, ASU process and leadership handover.
KA
Khumoyun Abulkosimov
Co-founder · Former President · Student Advisor
Co-founded the club, served as president and led the first Nowruz; keeps continuity between boards.
AT
Dr. Ayca Tuzmen
Faculty Advisor
ASU faculty advisor — guidance on risk management, event planning and organizational development.
Founder
Asadbek RuzievFounder · Est. October 2024
Founded in 2024
UZSA was started by El-Yurt Umidi Foundation scholars at ASU. Asadbek Ruziev founded the organization and drove its first two years, together with the co-founders below.
ARAsadbek Ruziev Founder · Former VPHSHabibulloh Sadriddinov Co-founder · Former VPKAKhumoyun Abulkosimov Co-founder · Former PresidentAUAsror Uralov Co-founder
Recognition
Where our work has been written about.
Television, student media and the Foundation's own posts about our events — watch and read them here without leaving the page.
Membership is open to every ASU student enrolled in at least three credit hours, and there are no dues. Sign up on Sun Devil Central and you'll get the invites — or just turn up at the next event and say hello.
Tempe & Polytechnic · Founded October 2024
