Starting off at college, like starting anything new, brings a whole mix of emotions. Feeling excited and nervous at the same time is normal when you’re getting used to a new place, new routine and new people.
Finding friends among 1,000 new faces can seem hard, but there are small steps your student can do to build their new circle at Stout. Here are some things you can remind them of:
Find your people
While shyness might be a part of someone’s personality, it doesn’t mean they won’t be able to make friends. There is a little effort that goes into it, but it can simply start with your student keeping their eyes open and being aware of the people around them.
Encourage them to pay attention to their dorm room neighbors, who they attend classes with, and who eats meals at the same time as them. Does anyone catch their attention who might have similar interests or personality?
After a week or two, encourage them to reach out to those people. More than likely, they are in the same boat of trying to make friends! Invite them to an event with or to dinner in the Commons cafeteria.
Don’t change your personality
Students want authenticity from each other. It’s important to remember that no one needs to change their personality to become worthy of someone’s friendship. Friends will find each other based on similarities, and differences will come later and most likely make the friendship stronger!
It can be rocky at first, trying to make friends all over again at college. Give it a bit of time and remind your student to be themselves as they arrive and develop a new routine.
Start small, but stay committed
Whether your student has made friends organically or not, joining a student organization or club is one of the most tried and true ways to meet people with similar interests, hobbies and academic pursuits.
Stout students have created more than 150 clubs that your student can check out. We recommend starting with one or two and committing to attending their weekly/regular meetings. The list of clubs is on Stout CONNECT, where students can view events and club information.
The daily student e-newsletter, Campus Life Today, is also a great resource for finding today's and upcoming events, university announcements, research opportunities, intramural activities and more. Every student receives the newsletter in their Stout email inbox.
