Finding Your People at Arcadia University
During my first few weeks at Arcadia University, I felt lost. I wasn’t used to being the odd person out and not knowing anyone. I came to this university terrified of my new beginnings. I felt extremely overwhelmed and one of my main worries was finding a way to form new connections along with lifelong friends.
The day before move-in day, my roommate texted me that she was no longer attending Arcadia University, and this was devastating to me. She was the one person I was able to form a connection with before getting to campus. I felt a sense of comfort with her, and she allowed me to have excitement when it came to college.
Although my roommate couldn’t attend, I found and formed a bond with a few other people. Being a person of color, I was always drawn to my culture and I feared that this university wasn’t going to be able to accommodate me. However, Arcadia University has such a wide variety of different cultures and backgrounds that I never knew I would experience. So far I am involved with the honors program and this program is truly changing my way of learning. Everyone in this program is extremely diverse and helpful when it comes to all sorts of assignments. And with having this connection within my community I feel a lot more support when it comes to thriving academically.
I have met a wide variety of friends who all come from different backgrounds and different cultures. I met all these people during fall welcome week. I was able to communicate and connect with different people during each event. One way I met one of my friends was by just asking a question. My group of friends was interested in playing spades but we needed a fourth person so that we could play so we asked a random person if they wanted to play and it went great. By simply asking a question and seeing if anyone was interested in playing we were able to find new friends.
Arcadia is a very accepting school and I believe making my decision to attend this university will allow for my growth as a person to continue. With the amazing staff and resources available to me and the friendships I’m continuing to build each day, I believe my future at Arcadia University is bright and that I will continue to flourish.
