What does student life look like beyond the classroom? At John Cabot University, students have opportunities to get involved in clubs and organizations that connect their interests and academic experiences with the wider community. Through student-led initiatives, volunteering, fundraising, and collaboration with local and international organizations, they can explore issues that matter to them while developing practical skills and taking on new responsibilities.
One example is STAND, an independent, student-led NGO at JCU that has been working on humanitarian issues since 2009. The organization supports refugees, migrants, people experiencing homelessness, and women and children in vulnerable situations through community engagement, fundraising, educational activities, and volunteer projects.
For Chiara Lelii, a senior Marketing major and one of JCU’s Student Marketing Ambassadors, being part of STAND has become an important part of her university experience. After joining as Social Media Manager in Spring 2025, she went on to serve as Vice President and is now Co-President. In this article, Chiara shares what it is like to help lead a student organization, the initiatives STAND organizes on and beyond campus, and what she has learned through volunteering and working with humanitarian partners.
I’m Chiara, a senior majoring in Marketing at John Cabot University and Co-President of STAND, our student-led NGO. I joined STAND in Spring 2025 as Social Media Manager. It gave me a way to put my interest in communication into practice while contributing to humanitarian initiatives I cared about.
Since then, my involvement has grown step by step. After starting as Social Media Manager, I served as Vice President for a year before taking on my current role as Co-President. Moving from sharing our initiatives to helping shape them has given me a different understanding of what it takes to run a student-led organization. Along the way, I’ve found a community where I can contribute ideas, learn from others, and take on responsibilities that challenge me to grow. STAND has become one of the most meaningful parts of my experience at JCU.
Sometimes, being involved means organizing a textbook sale on campus. Other times, it means joining a conversation with a humanitarian organization or traveling to Greece to volunteer. Behind each experience is a group of students figuring out how to make it happen while keeping up with classes, exams, work, and everything else university life brings.
STAND at JCU has roots in the student movements that originally emerged at American universities to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur. Since 2009, the organization at John Cabot has developed its own independent mission, focusing on urgent humanitarian issues and supporting refugees, migrants, and women and children in vulnerable situations.
What makes STAND meaningful to me is that its mission is not limited to awareness. With the support of NGOs and external partners, we combine volunteering, fundraising, education, and community engagement. We take part in activities at reception centers and partner organizations, collect essential items such as food and clothing, organize lectures and classroom experiences with people working in the humanitarian field, and develop initiatives that help connect JCU with the wider community.
Being student-led means that we are actively involved in making these projects happen. We help develop ideas, organize activities, communicate with partners, and decide how we can contribute in a realistic and useful way.
As Co-President, I see leadership as a responsibility to help that process work. It is not about having every answer or doing everything yourself. It is about listening to other people’s ideas, making room for their contributions, and helping the team move forward together.
Much of our work starts right here at JCU. Our textbook and novel sales, held twice a year, give students a chance to find affordable books while supporting our fundraising efforts. We also organize a clothing drive, collecting clothes that are then donated to associations distributing them to people in need.
Behind these initiatives is a team working together to prepare, promote, and organize them. As a Marketing student, I enjoy the strategic planning side, but being involved also reminds me how much depends on coordination and everyone’s contribution.
What I appreciate about these activities is that they offer different ways to participate. Someone might donate money to get a novel, donate clothes, or help organize a sale. You do not need a formal role in STAND to get involved, and these everyday opportunities help us connect with the wider JCU community.
Alongside fundraising and donation drives, we collaborate with the Community Service Office to organize classroom experiences with representatives from NGOs, nonprofits, and associations. These encounters allow us to hear about their projects firsthand, ask questions, and better understand what humanitarian and community work involves in practice.
Our INTERSOS x STAND event and the recent class with Refugees Welcome Italia are examples of how we connect students with organizations working beyond the university. What I value about these opportunities is that they encourage us to approach social issues as learners. We do not need to arrive with an opinion on everything. Sometimes, the most useful starting point is a thoughtful question and a willingness to listen. For me, this is particularly important when engaging with migration and inclusion. I want my understanding to go beyond headlines and familiar assumptions. Making time for these conversations is part of that process.
Our volunteering trip to Athens with INTERSOS Hellas gave us the opportunity to contribute and learn in a different setting. We visited the Greek Forum of Refugees and the Network for Children’s Rights, learned about projects supporting unaccompanied minors, helped prepare food packages, and listened to refugees share their experiences.
Meeting the people behind these initiatives reminded me that volunteering is not only about practical tasks, but also about listening, questioning our assumptions, and understanding where our contribution is needed. Our experience was also captured in the documentary Beyond Borders: STAND’s Humanitarian Journey to Athens, which brings together our journey, refugees’ voices, and the work of humanitarian staff and volunteers. It offered a way to share these encounters with the wider JCU community and continue the conversation beyond the trip itself.
My advice is to explore what happens outside your classes. Find an organization whose work genuinely interests you, attend an event, and ask how you can contribute. You do not need to begin with a leadership position. Start with a contribution you can realistically make, and allow yourself to learn along the way. For me, being part of STAND has meant learning to take responsibility alongside other students while staying curious about experiences beyond my own.
Being part of a student-led organization can offer a different kind of learning experience, one shaped by collaboration, initiative, and engagement with the wider community. As Chiara’s experience with STAND demonstrates, students can take an active role in organizing projects, building relationships with external organizations, and contributing to humanitarian initiatives while developing skills that extend beyond their academic studies.
From fundraising activities and campus events to volunteering with organizations in Rome and abroad, STAND gives JCU students opportunities to learn about humanitarian issues and put their interests and abilities into practice. It also reflects the value of student leadership: meaningful initiatives can begin with an idea and grow through the commitment and contributions of a team.
What is STAND at John Cabot University? STAND is an independent, student-led NGO at John Cabot University that focuses on humanitarian issues, social inclusion, and supporting refugees, migrants, people experiencing homelessness, and women and children in vulnerable situations. Since 2009, it has organized volunteering, fundraising, educational activities, and community initiatives in collaboration with NGOs and other partners.
What activities does STAND organize at JCU? STAND organizes activities such as textbook and novel fundraisers, clothing and donation drives, educational events with humanitarian organizations, and opportunities to volunteer with partner organizations. It also collaborates on initiatives that connect JCU students with the wider community.
How can JCU students get involved with STAND? JCU students interested in humanitarian issues and community engagement can contact STAND to learn about opportunities to participate. Students can contribute to fundraising, volunteering, event planning, communications, and other initiatives. They can also follow STAND on Instagram @standclubjcu or email stand@johncabot.edu.
What clubs and student organizations can students join at JCU? John Cabot University offers a variety of student-run clubs, academic societies, and interest groups that give students opportunities to connect with peers, explore shared interests, and get involved outside the classroom. Open to all JCU students regardless of academic major or year, these organizations host more than 400 events and initiatives each year. Students can learn about the different organizations and sign up during the Student Life Fair, held at the beginning of each semester.
Explore JCU’s student clubs and organizations to discover the opportunities available.
Interested in getting involved in student life at John Cabot University? Explore the opportunities available through JCU’s student clubs and organizations, and discover how you can make the most of your university experience in Rome.