One of the best things about being at UVA is that there is such a wide variety of organizations, that you are bound to find something you are passionate about and want to become involved in. From Greek life to business fraternities to musical groups to the Starbucks barista club on grounds, the possibilities are endless. We hear all about these large and influential groups as Relay for Life, Honor, or Hoo Crew; however, many wonderful organizations are often overlooked and overshadowed by the larger groups on grounds, but are just as worthy of our time. After asking students around UVA about what organizations they believe are underrated, here are some of them that I recommend everyone give a chance.

Radio Music Society

The music scene at UVA is filled with many wonderful a cappella groups and bands, but string music often falls under the radar. Radio Music Society is a string ensemble, consisting of four individual quartets. They challenge the ideas that string instruments should only be confined to classical music with these exciting performances of modern popular music. “Not only do we play the songs, but we arrange them ourselves too, so they are all original arrangements,” explains Nicole Moon, a second-year in RMS. It’s definitely interesting to see how pop music could be transformed into string quartets — “who would’ve thought Miley Cyrus’ 'Wrecking Ball' would be so beautiful?” Moon mentions. She continues, “I get to express myself freely when I play with RMS … [and] because we are not competitive, unlike most orchestras and other traditional music organizations, there is no stress, and we just have fun.” Radio Music Society just had their fall concert, Boats and Bows recently.

Morven Kitchen Garden

Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit Morven Farms knows that it is one of the most beautiful places around Charlottesville. The Morven Kitchen Garden is one aspect of the farm that supports sustainable agriculture, as well as learning opportunities, giving students hands-on experience to volunteer and work with growing food. “Growing food offers a person so much more than just the end product of a fruit or vegetable,” explains Jane Canteros, a second-year student involved in the garden. “It allows individuals to learn about where our food comes from and what it takes to grow food."

Help Line

We all know that Madison House provides many wonderful volunteer opportunities and resources. One of these programs that should be more known is Help Line. Help Line, essentially, is a 24-hour crisis hotline that is run entirely by Madison House volunteers. Maggie Daniels, one of the program directors, explains that “these students spend 30 hours their first semester in training, learning how to provide empathy to callers in a wide variety of situations, from class troubles and roommate problems, to suicidal thoughts and questions about gender identity.” Help Line serves as a great resource to those who may just need someone to talk to. “These volunteers are anonymous while they’re working,” continues Daniels. To contact Help Line, call 434-295-TALK.

Flying V’s A Cappella

OK, let’s be real: what’s UVA without a cappella? We have so many different groups that it’s hard to keep track of them all. The Flying V’s is UVA’s only rock a cappella group, and performs music from Hozier to Neon Trees to The Killers. Zofia Lemise, a fourth-year in The Flying V’s says, “[We] love to arrange classic, alternative, and punk rock songs into a cappella and rock out on stage!” Lemise continues, "It's the kind of group where I could talk to anyone and have a meaningful conversation. I couldn't imagine UVA without the V's." Their fall concert, On The Rocks was a huge hit on November 21st.

Habitat for Humanity at UVA

While Habitat for Humanity is a large, overarching organization in the United States, Habitat at UVA focuses on local housing, and serves as an opportunity to help out in the larger Charlottesville community. Habitat helps local low-income residents build simple and affordable homes, allowing many to see their dream of owning a home come true. Lillian Morse, a second-year, explains that her “favorite part about every Friday is going out with a group of people to help build houses in the community.” Currently, they are doing finishing work to have houses ready for move-in by December, such as painting, caulking, and landscaping. A lot of the times, those moving into the homes also help work with Habitat to build these homes as “partner families.” This is an “amazing way to get out of the UVA bubble” that many of us are in when we are taking classes here, explains Morse.

NAACP

I trust that everyone has heard of the NAACP. However, what many don’t realize is the NAACP’s presence on our very own grounds. Its mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons, and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Mariatu Mansaray, a fourth-year involved with the NAACP at UVA, explains that this year, they are “placing a focus on building and molding the next generation of leaders.” She continues, “We are dedicated to bringing to the forefront … often overlooked racial issues plaguing not only the UVa community, but also the community at large.” The NAACP at UVA just recently became officially recognized by nationals, and hosts events such as leadership luncheons, political debates, as well as the recent black-out event for Mizzou.

Global Development Organization

Whether it’s public health, sustainability, social justice, or other global issues, the Global Development Organization (GDO) at UVA aims to share these lenses with students through educative events, from dinner series, information sessions, education panels, activist events, as well as other fun events. Lona Manik, an avid second-year member in GDO explains that “GDO is really neat, because [we] try to create events that allow students to mingle with professors in a less intimidating way.” One of the ways GDO does this is through their dinner series, in which I personally have been to. “They hold monthly dinner series where you get to hear a professor’s lecture on their topic of choice, and eat free yummy food,” continues Manik. GDO constantly promotes a variety of events that is sure to suit anyone’s interests within the realm of global development.

Smart Woman Securities

We go through so much education from Kindergarten to 12th grade and now through college, but where’s the much needed class to teach us about how to keep track of our finances? Smart Woman Securities is all about teaching young women the tolls needed to be successful investors by providing them with mentors and opportunities for career advancement. Third-year Devy Agarwal says, “I am a research analyst for the club, which means that I do research on companies, and combine the research into stock memos and pitches.” She continues, “I really love the club because it has really given me the confidence to invest, now that I feel like I have the skills and knowledge needed to do so.” SWS demonstrates and encourages young women to be financially independent.

Spectrum Theatre

UVA’s arts scene flourishes with many great arts groups from music to theater to fine arts. However, UVA’s larger theater groups, such as the UVA Drama Department often overpower smaller organizations. Spectrum Theatre provides an excellent opportunity for students who want to become involved in theater without having to compete with large scale productions. Spectrum puts on two staged shows each semester, along with four smaller readings of plays, often located in places such as Open Grounds or Para (now GRIT) coffee. Fourth-year Ashley Houze explains, “We are a smaller group, but we really love what we do. … It has a wonderfully talented group of people, and we are finally starting to hit our stride an take on newer challenges, like putting on a musical this semester!” Some of the shows Spectrum has put on include 'The Vagina Monologues,' 'Arabian Nights,' 'Welcome to Thebes,' and '[title of show]', as well as their annual production of 'Voices of the Class.' “We put on shows that align with our mission of bringing thought-provoking and provocative theatre to the UVA and Charlottesville communities,” continues Houze.

Building Tomorrow

If you have ever heard of Bike to Uganda, that’s what Building Tomorrow is all about. Building Tomorrow (BT) is an international social-profit organization that works to raise awareness and funds to build primary-level academies for underserved children in sub-Saharan Africa. UVA hosted the first ever Bike to Uganda, in which people pay $5 to bike for 30 minutes on a stationary bike, in hopes of collectively biking the 7,354 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Kampala, Uganda, and 100 percent of the money raised goes directly to the project. Jess Guthrie, the current president of BT tells me that their “goal is to raise $10,000 throughout this year towards [their] third primary school in Uganda. We have already raised funds to build two primary schools: the Academy of Gita and the Academy of Mayira.” Next semester, BT hopes to hold an event called Rock to Uganda as a battle of the bands to continue raising money.