Introducing a new club on campus can be a challenge, but a few NC State students felt that the work was worth it.

In December of 2015, Olivia Zalecki, a freshman studying international studies, said she decided she needed to connect with other people in the Triangle area who were adopted, as Zalecki is an adoptee herself.

Coming from an Asian background, Zalecki said she went to Asian nationality clubs on campus to connect with other students, but in her experience, she still felt slightly out of place.

“There are tons of Asian nationality clubs on campus … I went to a few events, and they were fun, but there’s always that slight feeling of being out of place as an adoptee,” Zalecki said.

Zalecki, the club president, said she helped found the Adopted Students Union, a new university organization, in the hopes to give other adoptees on campus who felt the same displacement as she did a place to come and share their experiences.

“I was lacking the [comfort] of feeling like other people understand,” Zalecki said. “I wanted something that was a little more in depth. I noticed a lot of other adoptees on campus and thought that maybe they would be interested in the same things I am.”

After really getting the organization started at the beginning of the spring semester, Zalecki said there are already about 20 regular members.

This semester, Adopted Students Union is planning on partnering with Duke University’s China Care Program, as a vast majority of current members are adoptees from China, according to Zalecki. So far, most Adopted Students Union members are international, but the organization welcomes adoptees from all parts of the world. 

The Adopted Student Union’s mission statement is to support adopted students of all nationalities while also helping adoptive families and non-adopted students improve their understanding of what it means to be adopted and the different situations adoptees face.

“While not all aspects of growing up are different from a biological model, many of us do have unique experiences specific to our situations,” said Téa Blumer, a sophomore studying art and design and the public relations chair of the Adopted Students Union.

Meetings of Adopted Students Union normally consist of casual dinners and talking about experiences and will continue to grow and change as the organization develops, according to Zalecki. She also said the club plans on connecting with more related philanthropies, partnering with the Family Resource Center and doing a school supply drive for the Black Mountain Home for Children in Western North Carolina.

For more information about the Adopted Student Union, visit its Facebook page.