Supporting Your Passions

One of the most amazing aspects about the students at William & Mary is their vast range of passions. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with the W&M community and over the last two years, I’ve really been able to follow my passions in all areas of life on campus. If there is something you love, there is probably a club or activity centered on that interest here. I’m going to try to demonstrate the depth of options at William & Mary, but just know that there is no way I will be able to talk about all the opportunities available to you as a member of the Tribe.

Before starting college, I was really into music. I had played flute for over 10 years and wasn’t quite ready to give it up so I wanted to get involved in music on campus. Luckily for me, there are tons of options to participate in music at whatever level or time commitment you are looking for. W&M has a wind ensemble, orchestra, and several choirs. These groups are both a class and a club and give you a great opportunity to learn and grow your instrument/voice and each group does a tour every year. I personally play with the W&M Wind Ensemble and have been to New Orleans and China with the group! W&M also has a pep band which draws lots of musicians who want to continue to play but without quite as much intensity as an ensemble requires. Additionally, we have almost a dozen a cappella groups that everyone on campus loves to listen to. Each group performs both individually at Wren 10s (so named as they occur on the Wren portico at 10pm each Wednesday) and at joint concerts called A Cappella Showcases! Finally, we have lots of private teachers in a wide range of instruments.

While most people don’t think William & Mary is known for our sports, we have a strong athletics program made up of hardworking, dedicated Division I athletes. Our sports teams continuously do well or win in the Colonial Athletic Association and our student body proudly cheers them on. Any major sporting event or rivalry game brings out the masses to support our teams. If playing Division I sports isn’t for you, W&M offers club and intramural teams for most sports. Many organizations on campus get together to form an intramural team just for fun and the games are always a blast to play in or to watch.

William & Mary also proudly serves the greater Williamsburg-James City County with a wide range of community service opportunities. The Office of Community Engagement works to foster active citizenship in the students and offers many organizations that focus on community service. Project Phoenix, College Partnership for Kids, Pineapple Kids, Lafayette Kids, and Merrimac Mentors are just a few of the ways to get involved in tutoring and mentoring. I have been a board member of Project Phoenix for almost a year now and I love working with the middle school kids and tutors to help the kids learn, grow, and build meaningful relationships. In addition to all these organizations, W&M offers dozens of other organizations or ways of getting involved. W&M even offers new freshmen the opportunity to participate in Students Helping Out Williamsburg (SHOW) day during orientation. I did it my first week on campus and loved getting the chance to meet new people and see more of the town I would call home for the next four years.

No matter what major you end up declaring, we likely have an academic club or organization focused on that passion. Biology Club, Chemistry Club, Finance Academy, Classics Club, Economics Club, Anthropology Club, Health Careers Club, English Club, and Philosophy Club are just a few of the academic organizations on campus. And being a major in the department is definitely not necessary to join the club. You could easily be a neuroscience major who joins the economics club just because you have an interest in learning more. No one will exclude you from doing any activity that catches your eye. In fact, students at W&M often find that their problem is being over involved rather than under involved.

Not only do we have many academic organizations, we also have tons of fun interest clubs. At W&M if there is something people like to do, there is probably a club for it! We have everything you could dream of including Board Game Club, Table Tennis Club, Wizards and Muggles Club and Even Cheese Club! Whether it’s a cultural group, a religious organization, or a political group we most likely have it. And if we don’t, all it takes is a few interested people and the administration will work with you to turn your idea into a recognized student organization!

Finally, the last thing I’ll mention is Greek life at W&M. About a third of the students join Greek life. At W&M we have a large number of social fraternities and sororities that offer another great way to meet people and get involved on campus. In addition to the social fraternities and sororities, William & Mary also has many service and honor fraternities that provide a family and loving support system while on campus.

No matter what you love, William & Mary wants to support that passion. Our students are involved in a wide range of extra-curricular activities not because they feel compelled but because they truly love belonging to those communities. So if you want to go to school at a place where all your interests and passions can flourish, look no further than William & Mary.

Chatham Wilking
Peer Advising President