There are many opportunities for Barnard students to play leadership roles – in student run organizations, as resident advisors or other peer advising roles, in civic engagement or service learning projects.
Affiliated Student Groups
85 Broads @ Columbia
85 Broads @ Columbia and Barnard is a student-run organization that focuses on connecting women across various industries and organizations so that they can develop and maintain powerful relationships with potential future employers, clients and other community members. Each year, we hold various events that focus on how to expand and utilize one’s networks. Some of these events include “Happy Hour with Seniors”, “Leadership Week” and “Networking and Mocktails.” We also bring in various professionals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills through speaker events. In the past, we have invited Alexa von Tobel, the Founder and CEO of LearnVest, and Cindy Cornell, a leadership coach so that they can share some insight on how we can all become more influential leaders in our community.
Check Out Their Facebook Page!
Design for America
Look Locally, Create Fervently, Act Fearlessly, Re-Imagine College Civic Engagement
Barnard/Columbia is one of eight campuses across the country participating in Design for America (DFA), a national network of passionate young thinkers and activists revolutionizing the way college students engage with and improve the world around us.
On the Barnard/Columbia campus, we are launching a student-run DFA "solutions studio" that utilizes the human-centered design process as a platform to promote innovative, tangible local impact. Using student ideas as a catalyst for positive change, DFA works as an activist think tank aimed at improving our Barnard/Columbia and Harlem/Morningside Heights communities through collaborative, creative problem solving.
An interdisciplinary team of motivated student social entrepreneurs from all academic backgrounds, DFA teams up with faculty members, community nonprofits, and NYC professionals to solve pressing issues in our area concerning health, education, and the environment. We are moving beyond the classroom to harness the next generation of American innovators, using our energy and resources as college students to design and implement local sustainable projects with national applications.
The Entrepreneur Club at Barnard College
The Entrepreneur Club at Barnard College (EC @ BC) was created early in 2011 to provide more resources and support for students interested in entrepreneurship, start-ups, angel investing, VC firms, and networking. EC @ BC has several educational components, including networking events, lecture series, seminars, and field trips throughout the year. It also aims to give students first hand entrepreneurial experience. Starting Fall 2011, EC @ BC will be investing in student initiatives across all fields and interests. Through these events and activities, EC @ BC hopes to provide students with an on-campus hub for starting their own ventures, joining something new, and pursuing their interests.
reTOLD
reTOLD is an oral history project focused on gathering narratives from contemporary women leaders in all fields, including business, politics, activism, and religion. In undertaking this immense task, we hope to: interview contemporary women leaders who are successful in their respective fields, learn about the leadership challenges that women have confronted in the past and continue to face today, emphasize the validity of female narratives when they have been historically de-legitimized and ignored, and, empower other women by disseminating the oral histories that we collect. To learn more about this project, please contact us at retoldproject@gmail.com.
Smart Women Lead
Smart Women Lead (SWL) is a student organization at Barnard College dedicated to advancing women's leadership in all capacities. SWL is an independent group affiliated with the Athena Center for Leadership Studies, bringing women's leadership to the forefront of Barnard College through panel events, workshops, trips, and meetings with alumnae. Past networking events have focused on the fields of Government, Politics, Business, Finance, Entertainment, Law, Non-Profit and Human Rights. Smart Women Lead is always looking for new members to broaden our network of future (and current) leaders!
