My Big Question is an ongoing segment exploring various topics and answering your curious questions.

Hi DU friends, and welcome back to yet another week of oh so many questions. You would think that as the quarter goes on, I’d have less questions, but I digress…I only keep coming up with more. Why is college so much all at once? Don’t think about that, because that’s not this week’s question. Here it is…

This week’s big question: How do I connect myself to the DU community?

I think a fear all of us had coming into college was “Will anyone like me? Will I really be able to make any real, lasting connections with friends and with this community?”

I grew up in a close-knit private school, so I’m not unused to the idea of a smaller institution and what that can mean in terms of friends and relationships. That being said, my school was 500 students total, and this school is around 6,000 students, and that’s only counting the undergraduate population.

While everyone here knows there’s a lot of opportunities, support and groups to join, realizing just how much there is to do can also be more overwhelming than the fear of not doing anything at all. This is known as the paradox of choice, a psychological term that refers to the feeling of being too overwhelmed to make a choice and therefore being dissatisfied with your ultimate decision. Perhaps this is why many students at DU join a lot of things?

Nevertheless, it’s cold and dark here in Denver at the end of January and people are looking for a warmth that only comes from a sense of belonging–a comradery of common interest. There are so many ways people can get involved at DU and find those feelings along the way. Here are some examples: 

 

• Get an on-campus job

 

While this may not be the first thing you had in mind, forming relationships with fellow employees, as well as your bosses, can create a great sense of community. You can find jobs by reading the flyers posted around campus, inquiring in different departments for professors who need research assistants or offices who need help or going onto Pioneer Careers Online (PCO) through the Burwell Center for Career Achievement website to see what possibilities they have to offer. Finding a job might take a little more patience, but you’ll find a community as well as make a little money out of the deal.

 

• Join a club or organization

 

DU is known for its abundance of on-campus groups to join. You can find a list of a majority of these groups on Crimson Connect by following this link. With most organizations, you can find an Instagram to follow and/or join an email list to find out more information, specifically when they meet. Some organizations, like fraternity and sorority life, have specific times when you can join, such as fall or spring rush. If you don’t find an organization that you like, you can create your own by going through the Office of Student Affairs.

 

• Find a passion

 

Many DU students are passionate about things both major and non-major-related. Use that to your advantage when thinking about what to join. For example, you can intern at the Center for Sustainability if you’re interested in saving the environment. You can find a religious group or church around campus if you’re passionate about your faith. You can even find niche opportunities, such as taking a two-credit class through the Lamont School of Music. If you can dream it, you can find a way to do it! 

 

• Introduce yourself

 

While it might be a little awkward at first, introducing yourself to people is really the base of creating your own community. There are so many ways and places to do so at DU: on the elevator in your dorm, at the library, in line at the dining hall or while stopped at a crosswalk. Most people want to meet others as well. Saying hi first is a great lead-in because you’ll appear confident and friendly, even if you don’t feel that way on the inside.

I hope these tips help you shine a little brighter around campus and give you hope in the midst of winter. I had a lot of good news this week, so hold on to those feelings of hope as long as you can. And, as Albus Dumbledore said, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

Next week’s big question: How can I find the best food in Denver?

Got a big question? Email it to me! Jacqueline.Michel@du.edu