For a small, liberal arts university, Bellarmine is big on opportunities to get involved, find your fit and become your best self.
There are more than 90 student groups on campus and most students belong to at least one
of them. Whatever you are interested in—politics, the environment, religion or sports—chances are, there’s a student group for it. In these groups, students have fun and make friends while getting valuable leadership and organizational
experience. And, they do community service and engagement work that has a big impact.
“I found out that I'm a leader,” said Lauren Henry, a Pre-Med Biology major. “If you were to come up to me in high school and say ‘you are a natural leader,’ I would have said absolutely not. All of these organizations and
my mentors here have brought out someone who can talk in front of people, which I never thought I'd be able to do. Now, I give tours and I talk all the time and I'm so grateful for realizing the leadership capabilities I have.”
Learning communities and specialty programs help students get
connected and make friends, receive support from faculty and staff and get involved at Bellarmine and beyond.
“I feel like socially I've grown a lot because in high school and middle school I was pretty quiet,” said Chloe Harris, Nursing major. “Having to make new friends and talk to people because I didn't know anyone…I think
that's helped me grow a lot. Also, in nursing you have to talk to your patients, you have to communicate, you have to advocate for them, and I think this opportunity has given me a chance to grow and learn how to talk to people and not shy away from
speaking up.”
The Office of Identity and Inclusion, and numerous other student groups, engage the Bellarmine
community in identity exploration and social justice. This work not only helps create a more inclusive campus, but also provides the tools for our community to thrive in a diversifying world.
“I love learning about new cultures, so I joined all of the student unions,” said Hanna Mitchell, a Criminal Justice major. “I’m in the Black Student Union, the Asian and Asian American Student Union, the Latin-Mex Student Union
and I also joined the Photography Club and Archery Club. And, I’ve been doing Taekwondo and boxing at the Sport, Recreation, and Fitness (SuRF) Center, which has been really fun for me.”
Bellarmine has an extensive study-abroad program. Most students take advantage of our incredible
opportunities at least once. With nearly 200 program and partner sites in 68 countries around the globe, you can choose international experiences that are long-term (semester or academic year) or short-term (two to eight weeks). Students often find
these trips are life-altering learning experiences.
“If you're looking for a place that shows you who you want to be even if you don’t really know yet who you’re supposed to be, Bellarmine gives you that opportunity to explore what you wanna do with your life, your career, who you want
around as your friends,” said Alexandria Henderson, a Pre-Med Biology major.