Creating Spaces of Community at Harvard Divinity School

Community building is an essential element of many higher learning institutions. At Harvard Divinity School (HDS), students are not only interested in shaping their own intellectual contributions, but are also committed to turning words into transformative action. The Office of Student Life (OSL) is often where students first turn to learn what resources are available to help them establish new groups, further develop existing ones, or host events.

In the fall of 2025, a friend and I created the first Latine and Caribbean Students Association at HDS. Since then, we have organized a mutual aid benefit to raise money for Hurricane Melissa relief efforts and are currently working on a Haiti Celebration event while building relationships with other Latin and Caribbean groups across Harvard. That same semester, another friend and I created an Open Mic Night to showcase the wide range of talents on campus. Because of the positive feedback we received, we decided to host another open mic night at the end of February 2026, hoping to start a series that incoming and continuing students can carry forward.    

These are just a few examples of how I have helped create pockets of space at HDS, and each one began with simple conversations with friends about our interests and goals. It is often said that all you need to host an event or register a new group at HDS is an idea and a friend. For me, that has certainly been true, and I have heard many other students share similar stories about how they have expanded on their own ideas.

As a second-year Master of Theological Studies student, I have participated in many of these creative spaces happening across campus.  The groups and events below are only a small sample of what exists at HDS.  My intentions are not to promote these over any others; they are only examples I know well because of my attendance and/or involvement with them.  In this blog, I highlight a few selected student groups and events to show some of the many ways HDS students fashion themselves within community, within and beyond their degree programs.

Take a look at how you too can use resources, fill gaps, and create lasting impact across the wider student population or explore the full list of student groups for the 2025-26 academic year.

• BBYSnaxx at HDS - This affinity-based collective that operates as a site of multicultural epistemological changes, deploying alimentary artifacts as entry points for dialogic engagement and identity negotiation. Through the periodic curation and consumption of gustatory items representative of diverse ethnocultural histories, participants investigate the interplay between memory, affect, and belonging within the community. This group meets on flexible dates and times throughout the academic year.
• HDS Ecologians - This organization is a community of students who are committed to reorienting their theological frameowkrs around and ecological ethic to confront the current environmental crisis. This group seeks students interested in being part of a community centered around praxis for the planet, whether that be through organizing efforts, fostering dialogue, and collaborating with organizations across the Harvard community who also care about advocating for people, animals, and the planet.
• HDS Film Fest - This is an annual, public-facing, student-led festival dedicated to exploring the intersectionality of film and faith. Hosted on HDS’s campus, the festival is a unique platform that dives into the themes of religion, faith, and spirituality, and their relationships to social justice and community. As the one of the only film festival of its kind on the academic study of religion and film, this festival provides filmmakers and audiences with a rare opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions about how religious themes are represented and understood through cinema.
• Deep Listening Series - Sponsored by the HDS Study of Non-ordinary States Acknowledging Roots (SONAR) and a Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund, the Deep Listening Series combines lecture, narrative, listening exercises, and group discussion. This cross-school initiative invites participants to explore listening as a generative, creative, and relational practice.

These groups and events represent just a glimpse of what is possible at Harvard Divinity School. Students come to HDS with many commitments and identities, and the resources here make it possible to create flexible, meaningful spaces that reach beyond the walls of any single classroom or degree program. Whether you are interested in mutual aid, performance, environmental justice, film, contemplative practice, or something that does not yet exist, HDS offers support to help you imagine and build it. 

With an idea, a friend, and the resources available through offices like OSL, you can join existing communities or start new ones that contribute to your own flourishing and to the floruishing of others.  As you consider HDS, I invite you to imagine the spaces you might enter, nurture, or create here. There is room for your questions, your creativity, and your community.