VCU’s 500+ student-led clubs build communities of interest and forge friendships

By Sian Wilkerson

On a sunny Sunday morning this semester, a red-shouldered hawk streaked across the sky above Bryan Park. Below, dozens of faces lifted in unison, many peering through binoculars, to follow the bird’s path.

Despite the early weekend wake-up, nearly 30 Virginia Commonwealth University students had gathered for an outing with the student-run organization Birders at VCU. Ambling down the Richmond park’s winding paths, the group had already seen nuthatches, blue jays and finches – and, at a lower altitude, a school of shimmering, iridescent fish in one of the park’s ponds.

“It’s like real-life Pokemon,” said Mia Blumberg, a senior environmental studies major. She began birding in January, using a phone app to log the species she sees, and she already had accumulated more than 100 entries.

Club co-presidents Jasmine Cuellar and Mary Carson, who created Birders at VCU this past spring semester, wanted to bring together the birding community at VCU. Many of the organization’s members, like Blumberg, are now seasoned birders. But for others, the outing was a chance to try something new – and to make new friends along the way.

Getting started

Whether a student is new to VCU or a seasoned Ram, joining a student-run organization is one of the strongest ways to find community on campus.

"Student organizations are an important part of the VCU experience,” said Lisa Cooper, Ed.D., director for student involvement in VCU’s Division of Student Affairs. “They create opportunities for students to build relationships, explore their interests, develop a sense of belonging and connect with the broader campus community.”

VCU’s Office of Student Involvement provides resources and support to help connect students to involvement opportunities, including with “Involvement Starts with You,” an open-house style event that invites students to enjoy refreshments and activities as they learn ways to get involved. The event will be held on Nov. 10 between 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Underground (in the University Student Commons).

“The heart of student involvement is our students,” Cooper said. “We want every student to know there is a place for them at VCU, and we’re here to help them find it.”

With nearly 600 groups to choose from (and 40 more soon to be added to their ranks), there’s a place for every student, no matter their interests. The organizations, all of which can be found online through VCU RamsConnect, include special interest groups, sport clubs, professional and academic groups, and more.

Hundreds and hundreds of choices

In the East Asian Culinary Club, a shared love of cooking unites members.

“I knew for a fact that clubs were the place you find friends – and I needed friends,” said senior communication arts student Christy Wang, the group’s secretary. “It fit my interests because, well, there was food and I’m Asian. But I stayed because it was detached from everything else I was doing. It felt – not easy, but something that doesn’t require me to be constantly thinking about school. I could focus on community and food.”

Sophomores Mia Lombardi and Ariana Posey, who now serve as co-presidents, joined EACC during their first year at VCU. As new roommates, they decided to sign up together.

Lombardi, who grew up in Asia, thought the feeling of familiarity might help her find friends. For Posey, tagging along felt like a no-brainer: “I’m Asian. Mia grew up in Asia. I really wanted to be good friends with Mia, and so I wanted to join a club with her.”

How a club’s vibe enriches the experience

The EACC’s gatherings, which include visits to restaurants, potlucks, cooking workshops and more, are “very chill,” Lombardi said. “It feels like hanging out with friends rather than some club meeting.”

To help curate the vibe, the club’s leadership offers icebreakers, or trivia, with the goal of giving members a chance to relax.

“A lot of people look for that in college clubs,” Lombardi said. “It’s not so much involvement. You can head out on a Wednesday night, have fun, meet people – and then go home and study.”

For senior engineering major Xavier Robert Ogo, the EACC “has been my one club that’s detached from school and volleyball that I could go to and have fun and relax,” he said. “It’s good to have different aspects in your life to show different parts of yourself.”

Casting a wide net to start the school year

During Weeks of Welcome at the start of this school year, the Student Organization and Volunteer Opportunity Fair offered a chance to find the right fit – or fits, in the case of senior environmental studies major Casey Dugan.

“I wrote my name on everything,” said Dugan, who is trying to meet people after transferring to VCU from Northern Virginia Community College during the past spring semester.

Her selections included Birders at VCU, the Rocky Horror Club (dedicated to the 1975 film) and the Freshwater Learning and Outdoor Watersports, or FLOW, club. On the recent weekend morning, taking part in her first birding trip, Dugan had already made friends during the carpool over to Bryan Park.

For sophomores Nya Jackson and Jaz Chalmers, a recent meeting of KnitWits, a knitting, crochet and yarn-crafting club, provided the perfect venue to branch out.

Chalmers, following along with more than a dozen other students as club president Liesel Briggs explained the basics of crochet, said of joining the club, “[I thought], let me try something new.”

She and Jackson have known each other since middle school, and the Northern Virginia natives reconnected after coming to VCU. In addition to KnitWits, they have joined a baking club and a club that hosts regular tournaments of the game Super Smash Bros. They said trying new organizations together has made the experience less daunting.

But as engineering student and KnitWits treasurer Bee Eule said, sometimes the fastest way to make friends is to just start talking.

“I didn’t know anyone before I came to VCU,” the Virginia Beach native said. “I made friends talking to random people in line at Panda Express.”

Seizing the chance to start something new

Another benefit of student organizations is how they inspire more of them, with even the newest Rams feeling driven to create communities of interest.

For freshman Theo Nunn, serving as the KnitWits secretary isn’t their only interest in crafts. They wore their own hand-crafted dangling fish earrings to a recent colorwork workshop, and they are thinking of starting a jewelry-making club.

“I like having a common interest,” said Nunn, who makes everything from accessories to décor.

Back at Bryan Park, as the rest of the Birders at VCU group kept their eyes skyward, fellow freshman Adela Sisic focused her attention on the foliage lining the path.

The Chesterfield County native is a big fan of insects, especially ants, wasps and spiders. Seeing a dark-colored, beetle-shaped critter crawling around the underbrush, she snapped a photo on her phone to try and identify it.

Is there a bug-finding club at VCU?

“No, there isn’t,” Sisic said. “But I’m thinking about starting one.”