Affinity Groups Build Community

Samira A. ‘22: Affinity groups are important to me because they provide a smaller group of people of whom I identify with and can share similar experiences with. While I do feel heard in larger groups, the smaller nature of affinity groups make me feel more comfortable to truly share my experiences and hear from others. 

Arya B. ‘23: Affinity groups are important to me because they give me a chance to connect and bond with others who have similar experiences. Affinity groups give me the opportunity to connect with my heritage and celebrate it by sharing it with others.

Ainsley G. ‘22: I think EWOC (Empowering Women of Color) is a really special affinity space since we can bond over the shared experience of being a woman of color at a PWI despite coming from a multitude of backgrounds. EWOC has been a place to exhale and be completely candid around people who understand and believe you.

Bethel G. ‘23: Affinity groups are important to me because I feel the freest to speak, to think, and to express myself without judgment in these spaces. I feel the most like me when I am surrounded by people who understand me.

SDLC in particular was a really special opportunity for me to remove myself from my usual predominately white spaces and express any concerns when it comes to my identity as a Black/Ethiopian student.

As a co-leader of my club, the Immigrant Student Alliance, I enjoy sharing my experience as a kid who grew up with foreign parents and discovering the intersectionalities of so many of our members. It's a really special thing - being able to have a space for a shared identity.

Arya K. ‘23: Affinity groups are important to me because they give people the opportunity to bond over, celebrate, or get advice for certain experiences and it can be very comforting to know that there is that community to support you no matter what. 

Monica M. ‘26: My affinity is important to me because it makes me feel at home, kind of like a family. I am content and happy knowing that there are at least some adults and students who share the same identity as me as well as knowing that I can comfortably share my own experiences with them.

Pippa W. ‘23: To me, affinity groups are a space where I can be myself, free of judgment, and connect with others like me. GSA has been one of the biggest ways I’ve found my people who understand what it’s like to be queer at Potomac, and who really make the space somewhere so safe in a community where that isn’t always the case for people like us.