Get Involved
'Baila Conmigo’ Formal hosted by the Latinx Student Association
Black Student Association at their annual Spring Formal
Celebrating Filipino Heritage Month with Pilipino American Student Association
Indian Student Association hosting Holi: Festival of Colors
Armenian Student Association hosting the Armenian Heritage Week dance performance
Intercultural Affairs Student Groups
Armenian Student Association
The Armenian Student Association is a non-profit organization that fosters and promotes Armenian culture and heritage to the Pepperdine Community. Furthermore, the Armenian Student Association seeks to raise efforts to bring about an awareness of the Armenian Community in the Malibu and Los Angeles area, by providing a space where Armenian-American undergraduates can connect with their roots, network with one another, and give back to their communities. Pepperdine ASA strives to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of Armenian history, heritage, and culture through social, philanthropic, and educational activities.
Contact: Siran Iskanian at siran.iskanian@pepperdine.edu.
Advisor: Courtenay Tallings
Black Student Association
The Black Student Association's mission is to promote unity and cultural awareness, as well as to expose the Pepperdine community to the unique and universal qualities and traits of Black cultures. BSA is also focused on providing a safe space for our Black students to express their thoughts and opinions during their time here at Pepperdine. BSA is committed to encouraging lives of leadership and excellence for all students and to developing each member culturally, personally, socially, spiritually and academically.
Contact: Olivia Baker at olivia.baker@pepperdine.edu or Alexandria Cordova at alex.cordova@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Julie Quarles
Blue and Orange Indonesian Society
Our organization aims to build and strengthen relationships in the Pepperdine Indonesian community as well as promote cultural awareness and diversity to the Pepperdine Campus. We aim to strengthen our unity as Indonesian nationals at Pepperdine.
Contact: Audrey Hartono at audrey.hartono@pepperdine.edu.
Advisor: Scot McClamma
Chinese Student & Scholar Association
The Chinese Students & Scholars Association (CSSA) is the first Chinese organization serving the growing Chinese-American community at Pepperdine University and is dedicated to improving cultural awareness on the campus as well as providing support for those who come from a common background. Our purpose is "to promote better understanding and identification with the Chinese (Chinese-American) culture and heritage. It is our passion to act as a uniting force for all students and serve as a catalyst for positive action across all cultural groups."
Contact: Christina Bao at christina.bao@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Liang (Joy) Qiao
Crossroads GSA
Crossroads GSA is a student-run organization that serves to provide a safe space where all LGBTQ+ students and allies can gain loving support and engage in dialogue around LGBTQ+ matters. In a community where depression and loneliness are high, Crossroads seeks to provide an open space where LGBTQ+ students and their allies can challenge themselves and others in hopes of bringing confidence and self-understanding to their lives. Crossroads strives to promote sensitivity, to foster tolerance, and to encourage the discussion of Biblical, spiritual, cultural, and social issues pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community. Crossroads seeks to address misunderstanding, exclusion and aversive homophobia while also challenging negative stereotypes.
Contact: Joe Heinemann at joe.heinemann@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Steve Rouse
Feminist Club
The Feminist Club strives to break-down negative connotations around feminism such as those that assume the movement is associated with female superiority. To do this we hope to uplift and empower all sexes and place emphasis on issues that are most prevalent today such as derogatory name-calling, restrictions placed on men when expressing emotion, double standards, the glass ceiling, general toxic-masculinity and the strict image of an acceptable man, etc. We seek to create a safe environment that encourages open communication and we hope to unite all members by helping women in obvious need of help. We plan to do this by partnering with organizations who make efforts to resolve problems such as domestic abuse, sex trafficking, and so on. Our goal is to create an official place of union for the feminist movement on campus and increase awareness about the hardship imposed by societal conditioning in efforts to make progress and minimize prejudices that inhibit people from achieving self-actualization. This club is inactive for the Fall 2023 semester.
Advisor: To be announced.
First Gen
First Gen is a club where first generation college students and allies of first generation college students come together to create an empowering and supportive community. Through social events, partnering with fellow faculty, staff, and programs on Seaver Campus, and through each other, success for everyone is attainable.
Contact: Christina Brennan at christinna.brennan@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: To be announced.
Hawai'i Club
Hawai'i Club aims to educate, engage, and bring the unique "island" culture to Seaver College students through enriching experiences and programs geared towards promoting awareness and respect towards the Hawaiian Culture. In building an understanding of the diverse community of our university and the world, we aim to prepare culturally competent graduates for purposeful lives devoted to Christian discipleship, service, mercy, and justice in local, national, and global context.
Contact: Cora Lau at cora.lau@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: To be announced.
Indian Student Association
The Indian Student Association aims to bring awareness and respect to South Asian nationalities at Pepperdine University. This is done so with the organization's purpose of educating the community about the rich Indian heritage and culture, as well as providing student opportunities by immersing them within a different culture through promoting activities such as Diwali and Holi.
Contact: Harleen Bal at harleen.bal@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Sharon Wakio
Indigenous People's Club
IPC is an on-campus organization where undergraduate students at Pepperdine University can come together and immerse themselves within the Indigenous community. By providing enriching events and activities, the club hopes that students will grow in advocacy, inclusively, socially, and leadership wise. From this, active members become better stewards of change in a growing/diverse world.
Contact: Cheyenne Rosete at cheyenne.rosete@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Bailey Berry
Japanese Student Union
Japanese Student Union (JSU) is an organization which provides students opportunities to interact with each other and share the culture of Japan that may allow students to broaden their diverse perspectives. JSU will be hosting heritage events on campus, such as sushi nights and game nights, planning some activities off campus, communicating with Japanese clubs at other Southern California campuses, and providing career opportunities for students who are interested in working globally between U.S. and Japan. We are open to any students regardless of cultural background, and strive to develop Japanese community at Pepperdine University.
Contact: Caroline Sun at caroline.sun@pepperdine.edu, Taha Sikder at taha.sikder@pepperdine.edu, or Natsuko Ichikawa at natsuko.ichikawa@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Mike Sugimoto
Jewish Student Association
The new Jewish Student Association serves to provide a community for students of all backgrounds, including Jewish students, and their peers, to connect with one another, share experiences, and celebrate their culture and traditions together. It also promotes Jewish culture and traditions on campus while aiming to foster interfaith dialogue and understanding. The JSC will also choose to focus on social justice issues that are important to the Jewish community.
Contact: Nate Alpern at nate.alpern@pepperdine.edu and Kirill Solovyev at kirill.solovyev@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Andrea Harris
Korean Student Association
KSA seeks to promote cultural awareness by sharing the Korean heritage and by promoting an understanding of the Korean culture. KSA provides an avenue for all students with the common interest and desire to know more about the Korean culture by fostering an environment through hosting campus-wide activities that pertain to Korean culture, convocations, and promoting cultural awareness. The primary objective of KSA is to inspire students to grow in their identity, sense of community and/or understanding of the Korean culture.
Contact: Joonil Kim at joonil.kim@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Dongkuk Lim
Latinx Student Alliance
The Latinx Student Alliance (LSA) is an ethnically- and socially-based organization that is designed to encourage the appreciation for diversity and the pursuit of cultural awareness. We provide the entire Pepperdine community, including both Latinx and non-Latinx students, with the opportunity to experience, celebrate, and embrace the Latino culture on campus.
Contact: Sofia Reyes at sofia.reyes@pepperdine.edu or Ethan Barragan at ethan.barragan@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Ame Cividanes
Neurodiversity Student Association
The new Neurodiversity Student Association exists to provide a space where all neurodiverse students and allies can gain loving support and engage in the dialogue of neurodiverse matters. It also strives to promote sensitivity foster tolerance, and encourage the discussion of Biblical, spiritual, cultural and social issues pertaining to the neurodiversity community. And finally, the NSA engages in service projects in the Los Angeles community related to the well-being of the neurodiversity community and people as a whole, which affirms Pepperdine’s mission by preparing students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
Contact: Joshua Pitney at joshua.pitney@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Steve Rouse
Pepperdine Step Team
Pepperdine Step Team strives to create a community where artistic expression belongs to everyone seeking personal growth through the art of dance. Step Team not only encourages an outlet of expression, comfort, and creativity, but we also seek to empower and educate those on campus about other cultures and forms of dance.
Contact: Mia Adu-gyamfi at mia.adugyamfi@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Danielle Minke
Pilipino American Student Association
Pakikisama means 'camaraderie' or 'the ability to get along with others' in Tagalog. Our club actively strives to promote diversity on Pepperdine's campus by sharing the culture and heritage of the Filipino people while inviting students, faculty, and staff to partake in our traditions. We hope to create a community that celebrates cultural awareness and unites in each other's differences through purpose, service, and leadership.
Contact: Ethan Chuck at ethan.chuck@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Louise Chan
Rotaract International
Rotaract International is a service club dedicated to community and international service for young men and women ages 18 to 30. Its membership totals over 184,000 in more than 8,000 clubs worldwide. Rotaract clubs are self-governing and self-supporting and can be either university- or community-based. Individual Rotary clubs sponsor Rotaract clubs and offer guidance and support, making the Rotaract clubs true "partners in service" and key members of the Rotary family.
Contact: Stuti Aahana at stuti.aahana@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Katherine Anderson
Taiwanese Student Association
Contact: Athena Chuang at athena.chuang@pepperdine.edu
Advisor: Julie Quarles
Connect With Us
Howard A. White Center (HAWC)
Intercultural Affairs Office
310.506.4244
ica@pepperdine.edu