As a graduating senior, Jaden “JStew” Stewart ’25 came to a recent student leader retreat with a clear and simple message for his younger peers: Stay true to yourself and do your part — everything else will take care of itself.
“Just do you part, that’s the biggest thing,” he said, recalling the reflections he shared at the retreat for leaders of affinity groups. “We just have to do our part — being here, being part of different affinity groups, being different leaders.”
Stewart, a football player and member of the track team who is president of Men of Color, was one of about 15 students who took part in Kenyon’s Affinity Group Collective leadership retreat at the Ohio State University on March 30, sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
He said the state of Kenyon’s community is strong, and that events like this — which he also attended last year — only serve to make it stronger by connecting budding leaders and helping them to be their best selves.
“Coming in last year, I didn’t yet see myself as a leader,” he said. “It was more of just trying to hone in on what I could do better to become a leader, to find an identity within myself, and then be the one to establish that and push other people to greatness as well.”
Lynn Hampton, the College’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion, said the goal of the retreat was to remind students of the impactful work they do, especially at a moment in history that is challenging for many.
“We wanted to create a space for joy, resilience and leadership,” she said. “We wanted to remind them: You are doing important work. Your connection and the way that you’re building and fostering community is important.”
There are 20 affinity groups at the College that offer students a space where they can connect, build solidarity and foster belonging based on shared lived experiences. Groups are not exclusive to any particular identity or culture and are open to all students, who come with shared interests and potentially shared backgrounds.
“Through dialogue, education, advocacy and social connection, they contribute meaningfully to campus inclusion efforts and enrich the cultural fabric of our liberal arts community,” Hampton said, something that was reinforced over the course of the day. “Every single body that was in that space knew and felt that they belonged.”
Those groups represented at the retreat included the Black Student Union; Disabled/Chronically Ill Student Community Organization (DISCO); First-Generation Low Income Group (FiGLI); Kenyon Asian Identities (KAI); Men of Color; Multicultural Identities Organization (MIO); and the Natural Hair Club.
The retreat, which was donor-funded, featured a skills-building session to foster collaboration and a workshop led by a mental health professional at Ohio State with tips for thriving in a complex world and coping with current events. There were reflections from seniors like Stewart, too.
Elijah Lisboa ’27, event coordinator for FiGLI and MIO, said he found the retreat a great way to absorb the energy, passion and knowledge of older peers.
