When I started as a freshman at the Stamford campus, I knew nobody and did pretty much nothing. My days consisted of going to class, going to work and going home. I wasn’t involved at all in the campus community and hardly did much outside of that… there wasn’t a whole lot to do on the Stamford campus itself to begin with. The lack of options was all but encouraging my avoidant and antisocial tendencies.
When I transferred to the Storrs campus for the fall of my junior year, I eagerly looked for ways I could get involved to make up for the missed time at Stamford… and when I searched for silver, I found a mountain of gold.
Everyone on campus will tell you about how awesome it is to have so many options for extracurriculars, clubs, organizations, societies and whatnot at the involvement fair, with hundreds of people crowding Fairfield Way in the fall and the dozens of clubs to join. Yes, while the wealth of options is amazing, what people sometimes leave out is that the decision-making process is paralyzing and quite overwhelming. So many options, so many people, so loud, so crowded and so HOT.
Paralyzed is an understatement to how I felt in the fall of my junior year. I felt like a freshman all over again. Being faced with so many options yet at the same time wanting to keep my options open left me with… nothing. I signed up for a million clubs but hardly went to any of them, and I am sure I’m not alone in this. During the second semester of the year, I rallied and decided it was time for a change.
As a non-journalism major, The Daily Campus wasn’t the first thing on my radar when searching for a campus job for the start of my senior year. After hearing about how much my junior year roommate enjoyed her time as a News designer the previous year, I decided to apply, knowing admittedly not a whole lot about the newspaper business or process. After some uncertainty, learning and getting to know my production crew (shout out to Thursday production), it quickly became one of the few things I looked forward to in a week.
At the start, it was like observing a little world as an outsider, but it has become something that I feel a part of. Seeing all the section meetings go on, the board meetings, the organized events and the crazy culture here has been so rejuvenating and has carried me throughout my senior year.
And just like that, it’s over…
And on to bigger and better things! Though I won’t be continuing down the journalism path and I will be turning to the devil (corporate America), I will forever think back on The Daily Campus and remember it as a formative experience. I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with the lovely people here. It added a little extra spice to the Storrs chapter of my life. I can safely say I will always think back on my time at The Daily Campus fondly.
All of this is to say, don’t give up on finding your niche. Community comes in the most unexpected ways, if you look for it.
I would like to shout out some special things:
- My cat, for hating everyone but me
- The country of Italy, for birthing me
- Mansfield Center, for having the worst “mall” ever
- Trader Joe’s in Manchester, for feeding me every week
- Yellow Line and Lot W, for making my life 50% harder
- My copy editing partner Meadow, never stop shining bright
- All of my lovely Daily Campus friends– Liliana, Camille, Isabella and everyone who I’ve gotten to know over the last year
- My roommate Div, for being so very authentically you
- My friend Catherine, for introducing me to The Daily Campus and for being all-around awesome
- Seasonal allergies, for keeping me humble
- Chili’s
- UConn and The Daily Campus, for giving me a lot to remember
The Daily Campus, I give you five big booms. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
I leave you, dear readers, with one question: Would you rather be the BFG or canned botulism peaches?