The Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian (MENASA) Leadership Retreat has celebrated its ninth consecutive year since its return in 2013.
The annual Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian (MENASA) Leadership Retreat brings students together to develop leadership skills through identity and community building. We create an atmosphere to explore and reclaim South, Southwest Asian and North African identities to offer culturally responsive perspectives, knowledge and skills to support students and to reflect on the complexity of their lives, inside and outside of the classroom. The retreat engages students at the personal level to help understand how their experiences and skills can be applied at the community and professional level.
MENASA Leadership Retreat is open to all undergraduate students: first years, transfers, international, domestic, current students and student leaders regardless of identity, and aims to cultivate a more inclusive and engaged campus. By participating, you contribute to a campus culture that values diversity, professional growth and a shared commitment to excellence over an enriching weekend of opportunities to expand knowledge, personal growth and community building.
This year’s theme, “Seeds of Us: Cultivating Collective Care,” invites us to learn and share the experiences that shape who we are as a community. In many MENASA communities, collective care and connection are deeply rooted values. This retreat is a space to reflect and learn to both fill your own cup and nurture the cups of others—reminding us that we rely on one another to uplift, support, and hold each other. We honor the importance of collective care as central to community, especially as a college student. Together, we will create space for and re-imagine rest and self-care. This gathering is a reminder that caring for ourselves and each other is not only necessary, but transformative.
When? January 9-10, 2026
Where? MENASA Resource Center, Student Community Center, UC Davis
Apply HERE by Monday, November 17, 2025 by 11:59PM
