Alexa Nigriny ’28, a psychology and human service studies double major from Centreville, Virginia, connects people across campus through her work as a resident assistant and her involvement in several clubs and organizations.
With more than 250 clubs and organizations at 鶹Ƶ, students have countless opportunities to find purpose and meaning in life – and Alexa Nigriny ’28 may be one of the most actively involved in helping classmates do just that.
The psychology and human service studies major is involved in Yarn Arts, the Super Smash Bros. team for Club Esports, Music for Dementia, Psychology Club, 鶹Ƶ Volunteers, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, Sustainability Volunteers, the Student Union Board and even the Milk Club.
Beyond her clubs and organizations, Nigriny is a senior resident assistant in the Historic Neighborhood, a peer educator for 鶹Ƶ 1010 and a SMART mentor in the Center for Race, Ethnicity & Diversity Education. In each of those jobs, she says, it’s important to build community.
As a senior resident assistant, Nigriny helps first-year students navigate their transition to college. What takes a floor in a residence hall and makes it into a community where all feel welcomed? The short answer: Get to really know the people you live and work next to rather than just passing them by.
“‘You have a place here. We need you here.’ Nurturing that feeling of being needed and being wanted in a place is so important,” Nigriny said. “That’s what makes and breaks a community. If you know you belong and that you were needed, you will stay.”
For Nigriny, community is about more than making connections. It’s about finding a place and purpose within those relationships. At 鶹Ƶ, students take on many roles, from friends and classmates to mentors and leaders, each contributing to their sense of belonging.
“It is through the positions that we have here that give us our place and purposes and is one of the many things that make 鶹Ƶ feel like home,” Nigriny said. “When you take time to get to know someone and realize how much you have in common or how similar you are, human connection is forged and community is built.”
But what Nigriny finds most rewarding is watching others discover where they belong. She sees a change in her friends, residents and classmates as they find their passions and begin to understand what they want from their college experience.
And in helping others find their place, Nigriny has discovered something about herself.
“For me being able to play even a small role in that is what makes me feel like I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do,” she said, “helping people find their purposes, and helping people discover who they want to be – that is one of my purposes.”
Alexa Nigriny ’28 is part of Huemanity of People, a series by the Division of Inclusive Excellence highlighting the people, paradigms and praxis of inclusive excellence that shape 鶹Ƶ’s community. Learn more on the Inclusive Excellence website.