New Student Orientation (NSO)
Welcome Letter from Your NSO Coordinator!
Hello, Class of 2027 and Transfers! Welcome to Stanford. My name is Isa (they/them) and I’m a rising senior from Quito, Ecuador and Cali, Colombia, majoring in International Relations. This year, I’m the NSO/Community Co-Coordinator for the Women’s Community Center (WCC). I am so excited for you all to begin your journeys at Stanford, and the WCC is excited to welcome you into our community!
More from Isa
The Women’s Community Center strives to facilitate growth and engagement for Stanford students around issues of gender, identity, equity, and justice. We do this by fostering community and providing unique opportunities to explore scholarship, leadership, and activism. Our approach is inclusive, intersectional, and welcoming of people of any background or level of prior engagement with these issues. In our work, we strive collectively to make the WCC a space that centers the voices and lived experiences of all gender expansive and historically marginalized identities.
For the past four years, the WCC has been my home at Stanford, and the community that has held me and kept me grounded throughout my journey at Stanford, including through a pandemic, changing my major, and other hardships and moments of celebration. When I started as an intern there as a frosh in 2019, I could have never imagined how fundamental the WCC would be in my growth and time at Stanford, but even early on I could feel the unconditional love and support that the WCC fostered.
I’ve been able to attend so many amazing WCC events throughout the last few years; just this year, I learned so much, and enjoyed being in community at events like our Native Plants Garden Teach-in, our Embroidery Night event, and our 2023 Gender, Equity, and Justice Summit with Janetta Louise Johnson! Each of these events was an opportunity to stop the rapid pace of Stanford life and be with others in community, learn from each other, and feel the love and care central to what makes the WCC such a unique space. And, the WCC is here for you, too! I’m excited for the day that I get to walk into the WCC and see some of you there. We will be holding three events during NSO week, and will continue to hold events throughout the fall quarter. I hope you’re able to attend and get to know the community!
- Women’s Community Center Open House (Tuesday, September 19)
Join us at the Women’s Community Center (WCC) for our open house where you can take a quick walk through our beautifully crafted and newly renovated space, meet and get to know other Frosh and Transfers, chat with the WCC directors and current student staff, enjoy some delicious snacks and refreshments outside behind the Fire Truck House, pick up some new WCC swag, and learn more about upcoming events, programs, and ways to get involved with the WCC. - We Are STEM: Faculty Discuss Gender, Identity, and their Journeys in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (Friday, September 22)
Join us to hear faculty in science, math, and engineering departments discuss their journeys into academia, how they discovered a passion for STEM, and how they have navigated male-dominated fields. In addition, you will learn about diverse experiences and opportunities available to you in STEM at the Women’s Community Center and beyond. - WCC Queer Crafternoon: Earring making! (Saturday, September 23)
Are you a Frosh or Transfer who identifies as Queer and Femme/Trans/Nonbinary/Gender Expansive, etc. or questioning and looking to find community on campus? Want to do this while decompressing and recharging with the WCC before your first week of classes? Then stop by the Fire Truck House and join us for an afternoon of earring making, Boba!, music, and fun🎉where you’ll have the chance to hang out and connect with other students on campus! Come sit back and relax with some collective healing arts and crafts by making your very own earrings or other cool jewelry to enhance your authentic and creative style! You’ll also have a chance to learn more about the unique spaces, resources, and support available to you in the Fire Truck House.
The Women’s Community Center is located on the first floor of the Fire Truck House, right in the middle of campus. Be sure to follow the WCC on Instagram and Facebook (@stanfordwcc) to get all the updates from the staff and directors! I invite you to visit our regular website here where you can find all the most up to date information, opportunities, and resources. Feel free to sign up for the WCC-Announce mailing list during NSO, so you can check out our revamped weekly newsletter called “Love Notes from the WCC” to find out about upcoming events, opportunities, and resources throughout the year!
Please reach out to me at icalero@stanford.edu if you have any questions or concerns relating to the WCC, life at Stanford, or anything else you’d like to talk about. I am always here to support you and am very excited to meet you all!
With love,
Isa Calero Forero
NSO and Community Engagement Co-Coordinator
Women’s Community Center