How to Connect with Community through HDS Student Organizations

When you become a student at Harvard Divinity School, you don’t just enroll in classes. You are enrolled in a community of deeply passionate, intelligent and kind people who are committed to justice both in and outside of the academy. And one of the incredible benefits of such a student population are the amazing initiatives that they are involved in each week, in the form of a range of clubs, societies and organizations. As an undergraduate, I was a very ‘extracurricular’ type of student. I would schedule club meetings and society events throughout the week and then fill in my work schedule around that! I’m committed to my academic work, but I knew that in coming to HDS those interests I had developed as an undergraduate would want to find a home outside of the classroom in community spaces here in the Cambridge/Boston area. In this blog I want to talk a little about my journey with HDS and Harvard student organizations and how they’ve enriched my time as an MTS student so far. And there is still more to come! 

Alongside my interests in African and African American Religious Studies, I enjoy writing and reading poetry. Poetry is the way I think and make sense of the world. A lot of what I’m reading for my classes will find their way into poetry. When I heard about the poetry journal housed at the Center for the Study of World Religions, I was so excited! I got involved with Peripheries last semester and had a great time reading poetry submissions to the poetry competition, meeting with other readers and engaging in different literary worlds. We’ll have a launch event of the latest Peripheries journal to see that work come to fruition! As part of this, I’ve attended poetry events and readings and we even had some amazing workshops with Alice Oswald, who was poet-in-residence in February.  

And don’t worry, HDS has plenty of societies for those who are less into writing: there’s HDS JAM (Justice and Music) which meets in the chapel for weekly jam sessions, or religious fellowship groups like HDS Muslims or HDS Mormonisms. There are even organisations like HDS Law which think critically about connecting our study of religion to professional fields, bringing together students with similar interests. 

The great thing is that most organizations are entirely student run, which means there is flexibility and dynamism when it comes to meetings, programming and direction. Some societies pop up one year but may shift or change form in another year. Societies also have the option to reach beyond the Harvard community and share their work with the public. Each year HDS Harambee, the Students of African Descent, for example, host a Black Religion, Spirituality and Culture Conference that brings together some amazing speakers and guests from far and wide. We recently had the conference at the end of March, and it was an incredible time hearing from scholars, artists and community organizers. 

And if you don’t see an organization established you would like to be a part of, you can get in contact with the Office of Student Life (OSL) to get one set up. They often say that all you need to start a society at HDS is an idea and a friend. This semester, for instance, one of my good friends started a weekly writer’s workshop for HDS students with OSL’s help, born out of many conversations we’d had together about our own writing practice.  

At a personal level this semester, I’ve been loving getting involved with HDS Christian Fellowship. We’ve been forming a regular community, meeting for prayer and Bible study each week, and sharing meals together. We’re also part of a larger Harvard Graduate Christian Fellowship which provides the opportunity to mingle with other schools.  

All in all, being a graduate student is a time for expansion – expanding your intellect, circle of friends and opportunities. And societies are one key way HDS provides spaces to do that work of growth.