At Raritan Valley Community College, finding your people can happen in more ways than you might expect.
It can start with a Student Life post on Instagram, a club meeting, a study group, a service project, or a leadership role that nudges you out of your comfort zone.
To get the inside scoop, we talked with two RVCC students—Natalia De Andrade, a Biological Sciences major, and Mahboba Shahira Farid, a Criminal Justice major—about how they built confidence, met people, and found their place on campus.
Students searching “what is student life like at Raritan Valley Community College” will find a campus experience that is flexible, welcoming, and full of ways to participate. Through Campus Life and Student Involvement opportunities, students can explore clubs, organizations, events, leadership opportunities, honor societies, Student Government, campus activities, and more.
Here’s how to get involved at a New Jersey community college like RVCC—and how two students found their own ways to connect.
1. Connect with the Student Life Office
RVCC’s Student Life office is a great place to learn what’s happening on campus and where you might fit in.
For Shahira, Student Life became a way to meet people and help other students see what is happening on campus. As part of RVCC’s Student Life content team, she helps create social media content, capture campus moments, and share opportunities with other students.
“Student Life is the best option to go to when you want to connect with other people and make new friends,” Shahira said.
She credits Kiswa Khan in Student Life with encouraging her to get involved in content creation and bring new ideas forward.
“She’s the type of person who would bring your ideas to life,” Shahira said. “If there is an idea and you give them the idea, she will be like, ‘Okay, yes, let’s do this.’”
Want to learn more? Visit the Student Life Office in the Bateman Student Center, 1st Floor, Room BC-100, or contact Kiswa Khan, Coordinator of Student Engagement, Student Life, at kkhan@raritanval.edu.
2. Find a Club—or Create One
Clubs and organizations give students a natural way to meet people with similar interests, try something new, and build a stronger campus experience.
At RVCC, students can explore academic clubs, cultural identity groups, special interest organizations, honor societies, Student Government, recreational opportunities, and campus events. Students can also check out RVCC’s Campus Life resources to learn more about life beyond the classroom.
The Activities Board, also known as A-Board, gives students another way to shape campus life. A-Board helps plan programs and events that bring students together, and students with ideas for programs can find ways to help make them happen.
3. Say Yes to Leadership
Leadership can start with one opportunity.
This summer, Natalia and Shahira both served as orientation leaders, helping welcome new students to RVCC. They answered questions, shared advice, led activities, and helped incoming students feel more comfortable as they prepared for the semester.
For Natalia, the experience was meaningful for the student leaders, too.
“What I loved the most was making connections, meeting great friends,” Natalia said. “But also seeing how helpful we can be to these new students.”
Shahira said serving as an orientation leader helped her grow personally. She described herself as introverted when she started, and the experience helped her become more comfortable speaking with new people, answering questions, and stepping forward.
“It actually helped me a lot to get out of my comfort zone,” Shahira said. “It feels good to help people.”
4. Build Community in Class
Some of the most meaningful connections can begin with the people sitting beside you.
Natalia said relationships with professors, advisors, and classmates have shaped her RVCC experience. She makes a point of sharing her goals with professors, and one of her biology professors still sends her internships and opportunities connected to her interests.
“Maintaining a good relationship with your professors is important,” Natalia said.
She also found support through a study group for a challenging class. The group met at a coffee shop outside of class to review material, talk through questions, and prepare together. At one point, their professor joined them in the library to help explain the material.
For Natalia, academic support helped create friendship, confidence, and a stronger sense of belonging.
5. Give Back Through Service or Peer Support
Getting involved can also mean helping others.
Natalia works as a peer tutor in organic chemistry, general chemistry, and general biology. She also volunteers in her community, including through food pantry work, and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
Those experiences have helped her connect her goals in biological sciences, health, and wellness with service to others.
For students balancing classes, work, family, and other responsibilities, service and peer support can be flexible ways to participate. Tutoring, volunteering, student leadership, honor societies, and campus programs can help students meet people while building skills that support transfer, career, and personal growth.
Find Your Place at RVCC
Students searching “community colleges near me” are often looking for a place that feels accessible, supportive, and worth their time.
For those comparing the different community colleges New Jersey has to offer, student life can be an important part of the decision. Searches for the best community colleges, the best community colleges in NJ, or the best schools often start with academics and cost, but campus community matters, too.
For students researching the best colleges for building community, staying close to home, and preparing for what comes next, RVCC in Branchburg, NJ, offers a strong mix of academics, support, activities, and opportunity.
Start by exploring Campus Life and Student Involvement at RVCC and find your community today!
