How Student Clubs and Organizations, like A Moment of Magic, Enrich the WPI Experience
It was an eventful afternoon for Summer Tatro '29, a civil engineering major. There was hide-and-seek, Candy Land, coloring, and, to top it all off, a dance party.
She was visiting a little girl in early elementary school with pediatric cancer and her younger brother. At the end of the visit, the girl declared, "I will never forget this day, ever!"
"It touched my heart," Tatro recalls.
Tatro's visit was through A Moment of Magic, a WPI student club and a chapter of a national organization dedicated to using the power of play to support medically vulnerable children and their families. Whether through games, character visits, or crafts, volunteers create safe spaces in uncertain environments, connecting with children as kids rather than patients. Tatro is one of about 20 active members of the WPI chapter, which conducts more than 40 visits like these each year—in hospitals, in homes, and in courthouses.
"The experience reminded me just how powerful and rewarding genuine connection can be," says Tatro.
The opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives is one way that student clubs like A Moment of Magic build upon and enrich the overall WPI experience.
Student clubs offer unique experiences that provide invaluable perspective on the world and students' role in it.
For club member and biomedical engineering major Abby Belding '28, A Moment of Magic has helped crystallize her vision for how she'll use her WPI education.
In the lab and classroom, Belding learns engineering processes and instrumental design. But it's her club experience that has allowed her to engage directly with people impacted by medical innovation.
"With every child I meet, I am more determined to find ways to help them lead better lives, whether through new prosthetics to help them walk or write, new drug treatments, or at-home devices to allow them to be treated from the comfort of home," Belding shares.
Her volunteering has reinforced a tenet central to WPI's immersive STEM education: solve problems that matter and include the community you are designing solutions for.
"I have been able to reconnect with the human purpose behind my academic work and center my drive to become a biomedical engineer on the lives of these impacted kids," says Belding. "Wherever I end up in the industry, my focus will be on the patients, leading with empathy."
"I have been able to reconnect with the human purpose behind my academic work and center my drive to become a biomedical engineer on the lives of these impacted kids."
Abigail Belding '28
Student clubs like A Moment of Magic also provide ample opportunities to develop essential, human-centered skills that students need to succeed at WPI and beyond. As with project-based learning, student club members work together in groups, learning how to navigate group dynamics and collaborate effectively.
A Moment of Magic president Thea Clermont '27, a robotics engineering major, sees the club as a place to gain leadership skills and learn to have challenging conversations. She sees her role liaising with local hospitals to coordinate visits on behalf of the group as an opportunity to develop her communication skills.
"For me, A Moment of Magic feels like a continuation of my well-rounded education," Clermont shares. "I have learned so much about interacting with different groups of people, leadership, time management, and more."
"Clubs aren't just an 'extra' in college," Clermont continues. "Extracurriculars are so important in preparing students for the real world."
A Moment of Magic In Action
