My name is Andrés, a Latinx Studies major and Anthropology minor from New York, and I work with the Office of Admission as a CLAVE Coordinator. I am a Latine, First-Generation, Lower-Income college student, and I hope to shine a spotlight on some organizations on campus and my experiences with them.

Prior to arriving on campus, I was nervous about joining campus orgs and finding a community during a time where many groups had to restructure because of the many changes that have been necessary to keep the Northwestern community safe. Although some organizations have either dissolved or changed, the ones that exist today are amazing opportunities to express yourself and connect with other students that share your identities and/or interests.

I would definitely recommend visiting Northwestern’s extensive list of student organizations and events on Wildcat Connections. Here you can see all the active student-led groups and flyers for upcoming and past events (you may even see my name around the list of some exec boards on a few of them). The list of current organizations can be searched by name or searched by category. Whether it be categorized academic, identity-based, performance or much, there is bound to be an organization fit for you!

Academic Clubs

There are so many academic clubs to join, ranging from ones to help foster your poetry skills to aid in future career opportunities. I personally went to a few Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) meetings when I was still a Biomedical Engineering major. I have even submitted a poem or two to Helicon Magazine, an arts magazine on campus, and they just had a massive showcase of contributors’ poetry, prose, and other art in a local coffee shop that was a lot of fun to attend.

Identity Based Organizations

From the FMO (For Members Only) to CSA (Chinese Student Association) to McSA (Muslim-cultural Student Association) to Alianza, there are many identity-based groups made to foster a safe space for students to express themselves. Most organizations host many events a quarter and it is always fun to see what comes next (and enjoy the free snacks that come with it). These clubs often work together to do massive events, like CelebrAsia this year. Last year I joined the exec board of Alianza – the Latinx Student Alliance which was exciting.

Entertainment and Dance Groups

I know members of Dale Duro (Latinx dance) and Ballet Folklórico (the traditional Mexican dance) and both seem like a lot of fun and offer events to learn how to dance. I am also friends with many Theatre and RTVF majors and pretty much every weekend there are always student group performances, whether that be sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, musicals, plays that make you want to cry, or movie screening, there’s always some entertainment organization doing something interesting. One of my favorite memories from fall quarter of this year was watching the ReFusionShaka show in person with friends, which is a huge event where the dance groups Fusion, Refresh, and Boomshaka all perform together in a super cool showcase.

The community you find inside the extracurriculars can be super valuable and no matter where you choose to attend you should definitely look out for groups where you can be part of a community that matters to you.

I can say from experience that the process to create a new student org at NU is super simple and accessible if you have any ideas for something that you feel could aid in community building. If you have any questions about campus community building don’t hesitate to reach out!

Andrés Polanco Molina
CLAVE Coordinator
Sleepy Hollow, NY
Third Year
WCAS: Latinx Studies