7 Ways to Get Involved as a 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Student
Author Miranda Hasani '25 is a Sports, Entertainment, Event — Management major and works as a student assistant at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, contributing to 17³Ô¹ÏÍø News.
Once you arrive at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, you’ll find there are so many ways to get involved and build a community with the people around you. As a student that transferred here, I did not know exactly how I wanted to get involved, but I knew that I wanted to. So, I started using my resources and found to be extremely helpful in connecting me to different ways that I could get involved. Through getting involved on campus I have been able to make friends, get great work opportunities and do things that I enjoy. It’s easier than you think! Here are seven ways to get involved as a 17³Ô¹ÏÍø student.
1. Join Student-Run Clubs and Orgs
17³Ô¹ÏÍø has over 100 clubs and organizations across the Providence and Charlotte campuses. You can celebrate Latin culture with Culinaria Latina while showing off your culinary excellence or get involved with helping local animal shelters with 17³Ô¹ÏÍøPaws. There is so much variety in what you can choose to be a part of. Students can learn more about the variety of clubs and organizations and how to sign up through the Involvement Network, which you can search for on 17³Ô¹ÏÍøLink.
Between both campuses, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø also has a variety of Greek Life including Panhellenic Council recognized chapters, United Cultural Council recognized chapters, Interfraternity Council recognized chapters and National Pan-Hellenic Council recognized chapters. These organizations engage with the community, non-profit and charity organizations to make an impact.
Clubs are also invited to have a table at an annual Involvement Fest in Providence and an Involvement Fair in Charlotte that is hosted in the spring and fall semesters; at these events you can find out more information about clubs and sign up directly.
2. Get Involved with Residential Life
While living in a residential hall, you can attend programs set up by your Residential Assistant (RA) and get to know your neighbors. You can also take your involvement in residential life a step further and become an RA yourself.
Being an RA means you get to oversee and add to the day-to-day operations of Residential Life and support students in a residence hall. You’ll develop professional and leadership skills while interacting with people from all grades and majors. RAs also receive full coverage of their housing costs, complimentary campus parking and a micro-fridge for their room. To be eligible to become an RA, you have to have a minimum 2.75 GPA and be enrolled as a full-time student. Applications open for both and campuses in the spring semester.
Kelsey Williston ’25, an RA in Snowden Hall at the Providence Campus, has been able to get involved on campus through her role in Residential Life. “Being an RA has given me the opportunity to meet other people on campus that I wouldn’t have necessarily otherwise, plan fun programs and be a support system for students on campus.”
3. Join the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Collegiate Ambassador Team (CAT)
CAT is a team of students who welcome in new Wildcats, work Open House events, provide tours for interested students and their families, inform incoming students about all they need to know during their orientation and serve the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø community as the heart of the student body. CAT works closely with the Admissions team and you are given the opportunity to volunteer to see if you like it. You can then work your way up to becoming an ambassador, which is a paid position.
If you are interested in being a CAT you can email: catdowncity@jwu.edu if you are in Providence or lisa.davis@jwu.edu or jarod.clemente@jwu.edu if you are in Charlotte to express your interest. You can find out more information about this team by looking them up on jwuLink and following and .