Blue Jay Supper Society
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The Blue Jay Supper Society
An Unofficial Secret Society at Johns Hopkins
As the leading institution in R&D spending and total citations, Johns Hopkins attracts incredible minds. We find each other from all walks of life and cross paths again in the hallways of power, boardrooms, and academic societies.
Blue Jay Supper Society, or the Supper Society, is the first unofficial secret society at Johns Hopkins to have open applications, and the only secret society where undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni are welcome to apply. In 2022, a common interest in food brought the Founding Members together. The Founding Members recognized the arts’ ability to help us connect at a time when the world is so divided, and the Supper Society was founded for members to enjoy the arts — art, design, music, films, animations, literature, language, poetry, and the culinary arts — together. We invite you to take a pause, acknowledge uncertainty, reflect, and engage in deep thoughts with us.
Our motto is simple: “Good friends, good food, and good conversations”. It starts with friendship, pleasant company, the arts, and joy. We appreciate and are inspired by thinkers and creatives. Our reach allows us to hold sessions with artists, whose works are in the collections of MOMA and The Metropolitan Museum, with high profile chefs and private chefs for famous designers, or with renowned academics and authors. Collectively and with diverse perspectives such as yours, we hope to clarify the future of the world and help each other lead in the crises and disruptive trends ahead. We also convene sessions on current affairs in times of great uncertainty.
Unlike board networks or councils, our focus is on building friendships. We complement more professional networks by helping each other build a core group of lifelong adult friends who will show up for each other, and last beyond a short-term project or geographical constraints. This is a judgement-free space to cross field-boundaries, experiment with ambitious ideas, find serendipity, and dream. We converse about the world at large and not so much about Johns Hopkins itself, given the wide array of schools and experiences available.
You can talk to us and to fellow members if you are having a bad day and we commit to listening. Sometimes we might not have an answer or we might disagree, we will, however, always write back and exercise discretion. In that sense, we are a secret society. We are quiet thinkers when we are not in the limelight and in the end, just ordinary people doing interesting work. We typically have a group event once every other month. We tell our friends and significant others about the society, and enjoy nice get-togethers. On an everyday basis, we talk about food in a group chat.
We celebrate all kinds of milestones in life that are important to you, but partying is not our organisational mission. We are at a point in our lives where we do not need questionable rituals to feel worthy, though we have our own traditions and inside jokes. We act with integrity and commit to upholding ethical standards as a condition to the privacy we enjoy. We recognize the importance of sustainability and sustainable development. We do not discriminate on the bases of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin. We do not condone harassment of any kind. Membership can be revoked due to bad behaviour.
We are looking for brilliant misfits and creatives - somebody who sees around corners and has an interesting story to tell. We would like to invite 6-8 new members between 2023 and 2024 to co-create the future of the Supper Society with us. The number of active members globally is capped at 150 at any time, so we look for new members who can bring a vastly different perspective. We are expanding our presence globally together with our members, and we welcome members from different locations.
To apply, email bluejaysuppersociety@gmail.com with the subject “Membership Application”, and include your Linkedin profile as well as your affiliation to Johns Hopkins in the contents. You are welcome to write a few sentences to introduce yourself in the email but this is not required. Members will go through the applications independently and reach out to schedule an informal call within three months if they are interested in your profile. Members use the calls to get to know your story and share their own.
An application will be formally considered by the Society once you receive three strong recommendations. It will then be submitted to all members for review, and deemed successful if no members exercise their veto power. Vetoes are made anonymously, so that previous interviewees or fellow members cannot be pressured into influencing the review process. At this time, we only notify prospective members if their application has been successful and we typically extend an invitation to officially become an Elected Member within a year of when the application was sent. We encourage candidates to re-apply in a few years if they do not hear from us. Please know that we read and appreciate every application.
The Blue Jay Supper Society is currently free for all members, and we will vote on fee changes as we grow. We hope you will join us and we look forward to welcoming you to our society.
For all enquiries, including potential speakers, offerings, and reciprocal clubs or societies, please write to bluejaysuppersociety@gmail.com
Presented by the Founding Members:
A, policy
A, finance
M, strategy
N, science
Please note: As an unofficial secret society, the Blue Jay Supper Society is not affiliated to Johns Hopkins or the Alumni Association, though membership is only open to current students and alumni of the school. Certificate and non-degree students who have completed coursework at Johns Hopkins are also welcome to apply. We may ask for proof of affiliation or CVs in the application process.