If you are interested in contacting the leadership of any of these organizations, please contact Kevin Boehm at boehmke1@gse.harvard.edu.
Adoptees @ HGSE
Adoptees @ HGSE is an affinity space for adopted individuals at HGSE and allies. The mission is to promote the often untold stories of adoptees and bring visibility to this identity. The club aims to foster community among adoptees and offer HGSE’s educators the tools needed to support adopted students in their classrooms.
Black Student Union (BSU)
The mission of the Black Student Union is to be a positive and productive representation of the Black student community on and off the Harvard Graduate School of Education campus. We promote proactive leadership, scholarship, community outreach, and student empowerment. We embrace our cultural heritage, unity, and the appreciation of diversity within and beyond the African Diaspora.
Comunidad Latinx
Culturally, intellectually, and emotionally engaging members of the HGSE Latinx Community by providing a safe and inclusive space that serves as the central point for elevating the assets and concerns impacting our community, and mobilizing collective action on ideas.
Corrupt the Youth Boston
Inspired by the Greek philosopher Socrates, Corrupt the Youth offers students a set of tools with which to understand, critically assess, and address the issues they will face in their lives. Through this program, students engage with complex moral and logical entanglements that they can begin to unpack and discuss, and in doing so, they not only gain tools for living but hopefully also a sense of empowerment and agency. Corrupt the Youth Boston is the Boston chapter of this organization.
Early Childhood Community of Practice (ECCP)
The Early Childhood Community of Practice (ECCP) is a space for all students interested in practice, research and innovation around early childhood. We aim to engage our community in discussions about early childhood development and education, to connect students with the resources they need to be change-makers in the field, and to explore innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to supporting young children and their communities.
EdMedia
The mission of "EdMedia" is to tackle educational challenges and debate about them by different media options such as watching education documentaries, listening to podcasts, or organizing a photography exposition.
Education India Initiative
Education India Initiative (EII) aims to bring together people who care to improve the education landscape in India. This community will brainstorm on current issues, policies, possible interventions and solutions to tackle deep-rooted problems in India. This platform aspires to leverage the passion, learning and expertise at Harvard to address the challenges and needs of people back in India.
Educators Transforming Harmful, Oppressive Systems (ETHOS)
Our mission is to reduce power-based harm and it’s corollary effects. We will do this by creating a platform through which HGSE students, faculty, and staff explore the intersections of these dynamics in their own communities and co-create resources to dismantle oppressive power structures.
Emerging Technologies Organization
The organization aims to promote awareness and education of emerging technologies, such as blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, among the Harvard Graduate School of Education and broader Harvard community. The organization intends to offer programming for HGSE students and Harvard community through a variety of peer-to-peer learning and student-led activities, such as (a) speakers series featuring thought leaders on technologies, (b) skill-based workshops on leveraging technology, (c) research seminars featuring industry and academic experts, and (d) hackathons. This is a non-exhaustive list of programming that could be potentially offered to benefit the HGSE and Harvard community.
For more information about the Emerging Technologies Organization, contact Chelsea Han or harvardeto@gmail.com.
Empower Her Voice
We're aiming to give individuals who identify as women a place to voice the things they care about. To do this, we organize talks and discussions that give women a platform, enabling them to be better heard when they speak about their interests, passions or any other topics close to their hearts.
Film and Dialogue about Race and Equity (FDRE)
The Film and Dialogue about Race and Equity (FDRE) student group will facilitate powerful conversations about race and equity between HGSE students. FDRE centers conversations around powerful portrayals--mostly through documentary-style TV series and films--of racial injustice and inequity. For the first half of the year, weekly viewing/discussion sessions (generally 7-9pm on Mondays) will focus on “America to Me,” a documentary TV series that examines racial divides in a diverse, affluent, suburban-Chicago high school, Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Fostering Empathy and Emotional Learning for Students (FEELS)
FEELS aims to promote discourse at HGSE, to better exercise empathy in our professional and personal lives, and to integrate social-emotional learning as an essential component of education. Our mission is to facilitate a space where HGSE students can learn and develop social-emotional tools in education, as well as to advocate for the incorporation of empathy as an essential component of education at Harvard and beyond.
Future Indigenous Educators Resisting Colonial Education (FIERCE)
Future Indigenous Educators Resisting Colonial Education (FIERCE) is a student organization for Native and Indigenous students to bring awareness about Indigenous issues to HGSE and beyond. We will do this by sharing resources that challenge the colonial narrative, raising awareness through school wide events and holding space for Native and Indigenous students to voice their opinions and ideas.
Girls Education Initiative
The mission of the organization is to contribute to increased access and improved quality and relevance of education for women and girls around the world to promote personal empowerment and economic development.
For more information about Girls Education Initiative, contact Melissa Donaher.
HGSE Brain Club
The HGSE Brain Club is a student organization that aims to improve the state of education worldwide by advancing researches and practices in cognitive neuroscience and human development, ranging from research on neuroscience to classroom technology integration. We plan to accomplish this task by hosting domestic and international academic seminars and social events. We will invite leading scientists and entrepreneurs of the industry to discuss on-trend issues and possible solutions. Our target audience will be anyone interested in the field of educational research and practices, passionate towards exploring the potential of the brain and incorporating latest findings to educational implementations. We seek to provide the best practices accessible to students and scholars at HGSE as well as educators around the world and shape the future through the transformative power of education empowered by brain science.
HGSE China Educator Alliance
China Educator Alliance (CEA) is organized by and targeted for students on and beyond HGSE campus. Our mission is twofold. The first is to establish a career network for students who wish to explore education pathways and improve education quality in China. The second is to build up a social-emotional support system for students to share and reflect upon their cross-cultural educational experiences and positively contribute to mutual understanding.
HGSE Christian Fellowship
The HGSE Christian Fellowship is a community of students who are interested in learning more about Jesus and exploring how faith in him influences our studies. We get together on Thursday nights to eat food, share openly about our lives, pray for each other, and study the Bible. Wherever you are on your faith journey, you are welcome to join us!
HGSE Dominican Student Association
The HGSE Dominican Student Association (HDSA) aims to connect students from the Dominican diaspora across the Harvard campuses, build a supportive community, and serve a visible force to prospective students.
HGSE Education in Emergencies
HGSE Education in Emergencies is a group that focuses on education in conflict areas. Our mission is to grow a network of students, scholars, policy makers and practitioners in order to explore and contribute to EiE development.
For more information about Education in Emergencies, contact Nawal Qutub or James Aird.
HGSE Global Citizens
We will be educators who will raise students, globally, not withstanding nation, gender, race, color, tribe or any factor, and get them ready to be citizens of the new global world order that is fast approaching.
HGSE ID (International Development)
HGSE ID facilitates events, conversations, and connection around the practice and implementation education programming in the international development context. We seek to build and cultivate a trusted network of people and organizations working in international development, and focus on maximizing impact through the sharing and transfer of best practices, key perspectives, and innovative solutions.
HGSE Jewish Student Association
To connect students at the Graduate School of Education with Judaism on campus and in the Boston area
HGSE Muslim Student Group
This initiative is intended to connect HGSE Muslim students across cohorts and tracks to help each other acclimatize to student life at Harvard. It is meant to encourage peer-led support and provide a safe space for discussion and seeking help. We envision getting together informally over mixers and hope to host a few mixers to bring together Muslim graduate students across other schools. We are also in conversation with the JSA and Christian Fellowship to host inter-faith mixers and create a comfort space for connecting with fellow students of different faiths.
HGSE One Club
To deepen the understanding of education, cultivate cross-culture conversations, and foster genuine relationships among the Harvard community and beyond, through learning and sharing the core wisdom of Chinese philosophy, such as the innate knowing / conscience, the heart-mind, benevolence and harmony.
HGSE Outdoors Club
To create opportunities for HGSE students to experience and explore activities outdoors, including but not limited to hiking, biking, kayaking and snow-shoeing. To build relationships while enjoying and appreciating nature!
HGSE Polyglot Circle
The aim of the Polyglot Circle is to connect students at HGSE to each other, the community, and the world through ongoing language learning and practice.
HGSE Rural Educators Alliance
We intend to create a space for students interested in rural education to discuss some of the challenges facing rural schools today and how we can utilize the tools provided to us through HGSE to be effective change makers in those spaces. Additionally, we will raise awareness throughout HGSE of the conversations around rural schools in order to ensure that all HGSE students have the knowledge of rural schools necessary in order to bring that into their future work.
For more information about HGSE Rural Educators Alliance, contact Staci Cummins or Katie Jarman.
HGSE Soccer Club
We want to create a fun and inclusive environment for any and all HGSE students to be able to practice team-building through soccer, participate in some healthy competition with other students in the Cambridge/Boston area, and support each other's physical efforts!
Higher Education Student Association (HESA)
To engage educators of all personal and professional backgrounds in critical review and meaningful discussion of current issues and trends in higher education.
For more information about the Higher Education Student Association (HESA), contact Mary Chobanian.
Hip Hop Education Initiative
Our mission is to highlight how Hip Hop (art, pedagogy, culture) can be used by educators as a tool to creatively engage and empower youths in connecting to academic and non-academic disciplines.
International Higher Education and Disabilities (IHED)
IHED’s mission is to provide a forum for the discussion of disability and disability-related topics for students with disabilities as well as allies.
Latin America Education Forum (LAEF)
The Latin America Education Forum (LAEF) aims to provide a collaborative space for students interested in exploring current education issues relevant to the region. We hope to raise awareness about education in the context of Latin American societies by providing venues that foster vibrant dialogue and resource-sharing between students, educators, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers in the Harvard community and beyond.
For more information about Latin America Education Forum, contact Isamar Vega.
Mindful Educators
The purpose of the HGSE Mindful Educators student organization is for students (1) to learn and practice the foundations of mindfulness meditation; (2) to actively practice self-care during a high-stress academic period; (3) to gain a deeper understanding of a practice whose presence in education today is burgeoning; and (4) to cultivate a deeper sense of community in our student cohort. Our plan is to meet weekly for about an hour. Each meeting will (may?) have a different theme; a different type of exercise, a different topic of exploration, a different practice that could be integrated into your educational or professional setting. In addition to practical exercises and discussion, there will be extended sittings/meditations for those who wish to participate. No prior knowledge or experience is needed. There is no obligation to attend regularly, and all are welcome.
MIXED (Multiracial Individuals eXchanging and Encouraging Dialogue)
MIXED aims to provide a space of belonging for individuals who identify as mixed-race or who grew up in/currently have a multiracial family, and their allies. We aim to do so through identity exploration activities, social and networking gatherings, and advocacy/activism through the lens of social justice to raise awareness of multiracial issues within education and the greater Harvard and Boston communities.
For more information about MIXED, contact Maddie Alvendia.
Pan-Asian Coalition for Education (PACE)
The Pan Asian Coalition for Education (PACE) recognizes the need to address issues of education amongst students of Pan Asian descent. In recognizing a lack of Pan Asian representation and voice in the HGSE community, PACE aims to provide a positive space for Pan Asian professionals and students to come together and work toward the mission of:
1. Building a community and professional network of support and solidarity amongst Pan Asian students and alumni
2. Raising awareness of Pan Asian issues within education and social justice to the wider HGSE and Harvard community
3. Standing in solidarity with other communities of color throughout HGSE and beyond. We aim to foster genuine relationships and coalitions to liberate ourselves from white supremacist systems.
For more information about PACE, contact hgse.pace@gmail.com. Follow PACE on Instagram (@hgse_pace)
PsychEd Group
Human development is greatly impacted by our environments, and research across the social sciences has shown that the way we think and behave can be shaped by both cultural factors such as values, goals, beliefs, and practices, and socioeconomic ones such as health, education, and income. One way of thinking about human development in the social-cognitive realm is as an interaction between caregivers, who shape the early learning environment, and children, who must efficiently navigate this environment to acquire information about the physical world, as well as meaningful information about themselves and their communities. However, these environments differ immensely across human societies, and as a result the learning opportunities afforded children also differ, varying in content, presentation, and frequency. As a result, we must conclude that child learning needs to be not only robust, but also flexible. This conclusion leads us to two important questions: 1) How do children adapt their learning strategies to their environments? and 2) How do caregivers prepare their children for certain kinds of learning? The answers to these questions hold vital implications not only for the study of human development, but also to the design of educational interventions and policy, which must remain effective in the face of enormous variation in childhood experiences. We propose to initiate a weekly reading group starting form Spring, 2019. Our goal in establishing this group is bringing together researchers in psychology, education, linguistics, neuroscience, anthropology, public health, and sociology to better understand how caregivers from different social and cultural backgrounds prepare children for entry into the world, as well as how children adapt their learning to take advantage of the opportunities available to them. To do this, we must not only strive for a more complete understanding of how different groups raise their children, but also to establish causal relationships between aspects of children’s environments, their development, and ultimately their outcomes. We hope to bring together researchers who are interested in how environmental factors shape early learning, and facilitates conversation and interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers at Harvard and beyond.
QueerEd
QueerEd's mission is fourfold: 1) to support the study of gender and sexuality by master's and doctoral students during their time at HGSE; 2) to promote awareness of issues at the intersections of sexuality and gender with race, class, ethnicity, immigrant status, ability level, and education; 3) to provide an outlet for the concerns of LGBTQ persons at HGSE 4) to build a welcoming and flourishing community for LGBTQ students and allies at HGSE
SHARED
Given the extent of courses offered at HGSE and the limited enrollment of many, the SHARED group aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge among students through a repository of course-related materials, in-person dialogue around various topics, and, potentially, a seminar series with HGSE faculty, related organizations and/or research institutions to further explore these topics.
South Asia ConnectED
To bring together and provide a platform to students from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to work collaboratively on education challenges in the South Asia Region To disseminate and learn about educational challenges in South Asia region and develop interventions To use the platform to create an inclusive and tolerant learning environment in India and Pakistan To build cross-countries connections to gain from synergies in educational achievements across the South Asia region.
Succulent Society
Succulent Society is a community based club to bring together those of us with a shared love for greenery. Succulents provide a lot of benefits to the home and studies have shown that they help with air quality, concentration, and overall happiness, all of which will help create an enjoyable atmosphere during our time in graduate school. By providing a dedicated time and space to help sustain and grow greenery, we hope to enhance the overall living and educational experience of HGSE students.
Team Cuisine: Exploring and Changing the World One Meal at a Time
Why we prepare and serve the food the way we do has cultural, sociological, geographical, financial, and political influences. But, customs aside, all cultures have certain things in common at mealtimes: coming together is one of them. Team Cuisine aims to offer Harvard students an opportunity to come together, to support each other, and to explore the significant influence that food has in defining and shaping culture across the world. Students from other schools are welcome to join. Each cooking event will focus on an area of the world (undergoing conflict or not) and will serve as a conversation starter on important issues relevant to that area (education policy, economics, conflict …). We will invite guests speakers, chefs, and researchers. Hosts representing the countries in question will have the opportunity to discuss their food traditions and experiences. At the end of the year, we plan to publish a collaborative cookbook that includes all recipes and facts.
the workshop: Graduate Student Theatre Collective
We strive to create a space, both physical and intellectual, for the entire Graduate community at Harvard to explore the intersections of our diverse fields of study through theatre and storytelling.
For more information about the workshop, contact Jordan Campbell or Hannah Dawe.
UndocuAllies
Our mission is to inform educational leaders about the issues undocumented immigrants face, and to prepare them to better meet these challenges upon graduation as they come into contact with students who are undocumented or who belong to a mixed status family.
For more information about UndocuAllies, contact undocuallies.hgse@gmail.com or Ariana Aparicio or Mayra Sandoval.
Up First HGSE
Up First HGSE seeks to cultivate a safe and welcoming space for HGSE students who are the first in their families to pursue a professional degree—primarily serving those who come from low-income, working class, or non-white-collar backgrounds—by fostering community and assisting its members in navigating the environment of Harvard University. Up First HGSE cultivates programming to reduce stigma, provide a sense of belonging, and foster a broader conversation about class at HGSE.
WIRE (White Identity and Race Exploration)
WIRE is intended to create a space for white-identified members of the HGSE community to explore how they might better engage in the journey of striving towards anti-racist practices. The goal of the group is to use written texts, media and dialogue to engage in self-reflection and to expand our knowledge of racist systems to ultimately work better in community & coalition with People of Color in combating White supremacy. This group honors that it is not on People of Color to educate white people about privilege, racism and other dynamics of power & oppression. We aim to combat racism in white spaces while also holding that space accountable to different Communities of Color on campus. We will connect with different affinity groups, and any feedback, involvement and/or resource suggestions from the Communities of Color at HGSE will be will be taken very seriously as key elements that guide our work.
Womxn of Color Collective
The mission of the Womxn of Color Collective is to provide women of color a space to develop and affirm their sense of identity, and to provide a support, space, and community that will build lasting relationships. We do this by uniting women of color through social support, networking, advocacy, mentorship, and leadership building with an overarching emphasis on health, wellness, and empowerment. We also do this by creating an inclusive community space in which members can learn, explore, appreciate, and focus on issues and solutions pertaining to women of color through an intersectional lens. Lastly, we hope to fulfill our mission by continuing pan-Harvard collaborations to strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue and leadership opportunities in order to propel our mission beyond the walls of the institution.
For more information about the Womxn of Color Collective, contact Keara Sternberg.
