Whether we like it or not, Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a small university in a quaint neighborhood in Seattle. For some, it is a dreamy reality where college life seems more approachable. For others, it can be overwhelming — even more-so than a big public university. The “tight-knit” community of SPU can seem daunting because everyone always seems to know each other. Regardless of the size of SPU, finding community isn’t always so simple.
As a student at SPU, I know that the community that everyone claims to “find” on campus may not always be so effortless. SPU radiates the same energy as the cliques at the lunch tables in High School Musical. You sit with the student athletes, the ASSP students (associated students of Seattle Pacific) or the other random group of students that have known each other since orientation.
SPU is cliquey, and as a first-year student, it can be hard to find your community, your club or your place (even on a small campus in Queen Anne). For transfers or second- or third-year students, finding community is even more difficult.
The SPU community can be found through dorm floors, roommates, classes or church, and these are all great ways to meet people. Joining clubs has never been easier as meetings are mostly online and simple to attend. Clubs like PICCA foster a community around the many cultures of the Pacific Islander people, and the Fashion Club groups together students who are passionate about fashion and design.
Her Campus SPU hopes to join that list and serve the same purpose as the other organizations on campus, a place where all and any womxn of SPU can find a place of belonging. HC SPU is not just a place for womxn to create content and bond over their love of Instagram, but it is also a place for growth, empowerment, and acceptance.
More than ever, COVID-19 has proven to the world that community and social life are essential. Since March, the world has been adapting to a socially distant online community behind video cameras in homes, by ourselves. College is supposed to be a time where students can connect with other diverse groups and clubs are one way to help foster community. But in 2020, there are some extra challenges.
Whether your community is found in athletics, in a multi-cultural club, or other organizations on campus, it is ever so important that you find your place. College is a time of growth, learning, and exposure to new things and people. For womxn across campus looking for magazine style/content creating experience, HC SPU can provide a space where womxn can freely create and learn more about digital media in a hands-on learning environment. This is a space where diverse womxn can come together in an inclusive space to share, bond, and grow within each other.