Lead & join intimate, themed conversations

Take what you know.
Share it with others.
Learn from each other.

Zoom collage

Schefs is a platform by and for college students to lead and participate in themed, small-group conversations on topics of their choice... every weekend.

How to host:

1.

Pick your topic

What are you studying? What have you been interested in lately? You only have to be an enthusiast, not an expert, to host a Schefs event. Check out our Open Mind Archive for inspiration.

2.

Create your event

Using our event builder, you’ll come up with a title, description, time and date. We’ll set up the Zoom + all logistics.

3.

Any college student can attend

Your event will appear on our site within 24 hours of submission, and anyone can reserve a ticket for free. We’ll make a custom flyer for your event that we’ll both use to promote.

4.

Facilitate conversation

You’ll show up to your event along with all attendees. Everyone is there because they care about the topic at hand, but it’s your job to initially introduce yourself, the subject matter, and ask some questions to get the conversation rolling!

Schefs
IS...

  • For undergraduates
  • Conversations
  • About being an “enthusiast”

Schefs is
NOT...

  • For adults
  • Lectures
  • About being an “expert”

Interested?

Do you want to get even MORE involved?

Become a Schefs ambassador.

Host every month and help bring people onto the platform.

Words of encouragement:

We know that the prospect of leading a conversation with strangers might feel intimidating... but we promise, it’s worth it! You are not expected to know everything about your event’s topic. You’re just the catalyst of the interaction.

In fact, by hosting an event, you do something truly beautiful: you put your ideas, passions, and interests into the world, and people gather round. You create a space for people to learn from each other, and bond through meaningful dialogue. Be brave and start the conversations you want to be having!

How did this start?

Schefs started in January 2020 as a bunch of students at Columbia hosting meals in their dorm rooms open to any Columbia student. “Novel dining experiences,” we called them—for instance, the “Psychodrama Dinner Theater” (shoutout Alex Levene), a live-action play during a multi-course meal. The vision was to use food as a mechanism for meeting new people an an intimate and interesting way. Then Covid happened—we were all sent home—and so we started running Schefs events virtually. We were no longer bound by geography, so we opened it up to undergrad students from any school. And from there, Schefs quickly became a space for young people around the world to meet and jam on shared topics of interest, and to most importantly, learn from each other.