Tahlayah Morrow (front right), president of Society of Sisters pictured with Society of Sister board members at a club event. Credit: Courtesy of Jessica McKeller

Tahlayah Morrow said she remembered feeling homesick when she first arrived at Ohio State. 

It wasn’t until she started hanging out with Society of Sisters, a student organization focused on building community between Black women on campus, that she began feeling like herself again.

Morrow, a fifth-year in psychology and fashion and president of the club, said the organization works to not only encourage personal, social and professional development in women of color on campus, but also to promote a strong sense of sisterhood.

“Being able to create that kind of feeling for someone else from what I learned from having an older sister — we have enough in this world going against us, and we don’t need to be doing that to each other,” Morrow said. “My mission is to harbor sisterhood and almost be like a big sister to other people.” 

Morrow said many people of color on campus, particularly first-generation students, struggle to transition to a large, predominantly white university.

“It can be hard to find where you belong — it can be hard to get adjusted to a campus like this, and I know from experience as a transfer from a branch campus,” Morrow said.

In addition to its normal activities, Morrow said Society of Sisters initiated a program designed to help women across campus who struggled to adjust to school amid COVID-19 restrictions.

Jasmine Feller, a fourth-year in English and morale chair of Society of Sisters, said she never felt more welcome in a place on campus than during her first meeting with the organization.

“Society of Sisters is about building a place on campus where young Black women feel like they have a safe place,” Feller said.

Feller said she feels she has also made an impact through the organization’s mentorship program — where older students mentor younger students.

“We spend time, we talk about what is going on in her life, how the semester’s going, what I can do to help her feel more empowered and more comfortable on this campus, and then we do those things together, so she knows she has a safe place,” Feller said.