What It’s Like … to Start Your Own Student Organization
Fueled by his love of food and intercultural exchange, Joseph Pool ’26 founded Breaking Bread, a Rollins student organization that builds community and bridges divides through shared meals and conversation.
By Joseph Pool ’26, as told to Jessica Firpi ’11
November 12, 2024
With more than 100 student organizations at Rollins, there’s something for everyone—but if students don’t find their fit, they can always start their own club that speaks directly to their passions. Just ask public policy and political economy major Joseph Pool ’26, who discovered the power of culinary diplomacy in a student-faculty research project with religion professor Yudit Greenberg. The experience nurtured his love of food and intercultural exchange and inspired Pool to found Breaking Bread, a student organization focused on building community and fostering dialogue through shared meals. The club has quickly become one of the fastest-growing on campus, drawing over 100 members in its inaugural week. Pool shares firsthand what it has been like to launch his own student organization and how it has become a defining waypoint on his Rollins journey.
My first year at Rollins, I took two courses with religion professor Yudit Greenberg—Food and Religion and Food and Dining in Antiquity—which gave me a lot of academic insight into the importance of food. I was so inspired by these courses that during summer 2023, I worked with Professor Greenberg on collaborative research to explore culinary diplomacy—how food, and specifically shared meals, can be used to bridge interreligious and intercultural divides. Our research showed that throughout history, food has been essential in creating everything from peace deals to cultural exchange to economic partnerships.
Spurred by positive research results and armed with new knowledge, I wanted to put this culinary diplomacy into practice at Rollins. Because the school is so committed to personal attention and to giving students opportunities to explore different interests, starting a student organization is a really easy process. Through the Center for Campus Involvement—an entire office dedicated to helping students find their fit—I was connected with the right people and resources to bring my idea to life.
We launched Breaking Bread in August 2023 and quickly realized how popular and powerful the meetings were. This year, the club has doubled in active members, and the first Eat and Greet event was attended by nearly 80 students. Many were people not involved in other student organizations or who did not typically attend evening programming. Sitting around the table and sharing a meal with strangers inspired conversation, and soon people started to exchange contact info. I’ve since seen them getting lunch together on campus or grabbing coffee on Park Avenue. Food has become the avenue for connection.
During one of our Dinner Discourses in partnership with students from the Bonner Leaders Program [a service-based cohort that pairs students with local nonprofits], we were able to engage in an exciting debate about freedom of speech and its limitations. People had differing views, but the act of sharing food helped make it a safe space for open dialogue. Food was a tool for progress and a referee of the debate.
Since its founding, Breaking Bread has partnered with administration and a few campus departments—like Dining Services, the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life, and the Center for Inclusion & Belonging—for programming and strategic planning. Two of these departments have even secured grants to use our shared meals to facilitate meaningful conversations across religions, cultures, and ideologies.
Additionally, as a Ginsburg Fellow, I’ve been awarded funding and mentorship to expand Breaking Bread beyond a typical student organization to be a tool for connection in the wider community.
After Rollins, I want to study law and public policy and pursue a career in food policy. Leading my own student organization has allowed me to see all sides of an issue and has given me the skills to bring people with divergent views together. This experience has helped me realize that people are far more similar than different, regardless of religious belief, cultural background, or political affiliation. We all want similar things, and one of the most important is connection.
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