Name
Block 2: Creating a Sense of Belonging for Marginalized Students Through Community Engagement
Date & Time
Monday, March 31, 2025, 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM
Location Name
International 3
Focus Area
Centering mental health, belonging, and well-being
Session Type
Promising Practice (two 20-minute sessions per block)
Description

This qualitative study shows that marginalized students can through off-campus community engagement develop a sense of belonging at PWIs. When students participated in initiatives that aligned with their social identities, this made them “feel at home” as they interacted with individuals of similar backgrounds. Community engagement occasionally also felt like an obligation because students firsthand saw the difference they could make in the lives of others due to their own social identities. Despite having to overcome financial and logistical hurdles to this type of work, students overwhelmingly reported the positive impact community engagement had on them as it allowed them to reaffirm their identities, provided a safe space, and often worked as a catalyst to make changes at their PWIs.