I’m someone who cares deeply about finding a sense of belonging when moving to a new place. During my four years of undergraduate studies in Boston, I found a sense of belonging by joining student organizations, taking on leadership roles, and pouring my time into activities that made campus life come alive. I learned deeply that feeling a sense of community takes time and commitment – it is built slowly over time.
Coming to Teachers College, I felt that same pull again.
In the first week of school, I attended both the TC and the Columbia Main Campus’s Student Involvement Fair. The TC involvement fair was very welcoming and inspiring. I was surrounded by the sound of my peers hovering over the classic TC blue tables, sharing passionately about their own student organizations. That energy drew me in, and I put down my name on all the sign up sheets of organizations I was even remotely interested in.
The Columbia main campus involvement fair was a bit of a different story. Being surrounded by undergraduates brought me straight back to my own undergrad years. Having just graduated that past May – and after spending four years trying to grow beyond that chapter – this scene made me want to shrivel up into my shell. Now, one semester in, I’m so grateful I stayed.
If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met the friends I found through the Singapore Students Association, and I wouldn’t have discovered one of my main communities here: CU Ballroom.
CU Ballroom became one of the first places where campus started to feel familiar. It gave me two hours each week to move in sync with different people, share puzzled looks when we didn't know what we were doing, laugh, and step outside my program, surrounded by people whose academic paths looked nothing like mine. Yet we all shared that space, dancing to the same music, knees weak, palms sweaty. Through it, I found not just a creative outlet, but connections that now anchor my weeks – familiar faces, lighthearted conversations, and late-night munchies that go beyond the dance floor.
From there, joining clubs became less about “getting involved” and more about noticing the value each space offered to my life. Some organizations gave me energy and movement; others offered quieter, more intimate connection. I learned that different communities serve different needs, and that belonging doesn’t have to look the same everywhere to be real.
Community began showing up in more places than I expected.
What I love about TC is that we all understand we’re students first. Joining clubs and organizations doesn’t mean pledging loyalty to all of them – or even committing to just one. Instead, they feel like a collection of small, meaningful anchors across campus, like base camps you can return to when you need them. Some spaces I visit every week; some I drop into when I have time. Others I’ve only been to once – experienced fully in the moment – yet they continue to linger with me long after I’ve left. Some are large and lively, others small and grounding. Yet all of them matter. What’s made the difference is how accessible these spaces feel – how easy it is to step in, participate at your own pace, and let connection grow naturally over time.
Looking back, I’m grateful I pushed past the initial discomfort of that first week. Joining clubs didn’t instantly make TC feel like home. But over time, through shared moments and repeated presence, it did. These organizations have turned campus from a place I attend into a place I belong.
If you’re new to TC, I encourage you to let your curiosity take the lead! Find yourself lingering on a flyer for more than a moment? Write your name down. Show up once. Community doesn’t always announce itself right away. But if you give it time, it often finds you in ways you didn’t expect.