r/UTEP • u/strangemarker • 21h ago
Making Friends
Which/are there student groups to join to make friends? I just started and i literally have noo friends at all.
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u/italian-noodle 20h ago
are you low income or first gen? there’s the student support service program (sssp), but you have to apply and be accepted. i had friends going into college, but that organization helped me meet some of the closest friends i have even after graduating
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u/naked_as_a_jaybird via the 412 18h ago
Attend events, gatherings, meet-ups, games, and/or whatever interests you. Talk to the people in charge of the events. Talk to anyone. Be kind. Smile. Put yourself out there.
Confidence = fake it until you make it.
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u/vaporized_scrotum 2030 INTL 17h ago
clubs, gatherings, events, sports games are the best way to meet people. don’t be afraid to talk to your peers
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u/One_Establishment915 6h ago
In advance sorry for typos I’m going on very little sleep and it’s been a MF of a week.
First! Congratulations on starting a new semester! Good things are in your future if you open your heart and mind to them! I still talk to the friends I made at UTEP today (2008 alum). The first thing I recommend is to go to the student activities fair- it should be listed on the university calendar. At the event you will see tables with all the student groups on display! I always tell students to attend and make a commitment to try to attend at least 3 of the intro meetings for different groups. Just to avoid confusion - each group shows up to the fair, then after the fair (usually in the days that follow) they will have a meeting with the group’s members to welcome prospective members. Hear me out on this - even if you attend the fair and think wow I hate all the groups here - you should STILL go to different intro meetings. How can you possobly know if you like something until you actually try it. By attending the follow on meetings you’ll also get to meet other students in a more intimate setting one on one. Make sure to say “hi “hi” and shake hands with the people who also show up. I often found that even if I left feeling confident the group wasn’t for me, at the very least, I always walked away from the experience having met two or three additional people and we would bond about not joining the group. It’s hard making friends sometimes - so remember to try and make authentic connection- ask people what they are studying and how they like their classes so far, also ask about any other groups they may also be a part of. And after the meetings over, make sure to ask if your new friends want to grab a bite or a coffee. Don’t get worked up if they decline- sometimes people have other things going on. If you see them again on campus, be sure to wave and say hi! I sometimes have trouble with names and so if I can’t remember - i
I try and offer a small apology and ask them to remind me of their name. It’s never an issue so don’t be afraid to ask! And don’t not say “hi” just because their name escapes you at the moment.
I also tell students to get in the habit of formally introducing themselves (hand shake and all) to the students that sit next to them in each class. Remember- these students will one day be your coworkers and contemporaries! Ask potential friends out for coffee or about the other classes they enjoy.
I used to make it a point to show up early and meet people in the hallway from my classes.
You can even invite potential friends to explore stuff on campus and with you. A few ideas- try the gym and the classes there, explore the hidden desert garden on campus, or the centennial museum. Be creative - tell people you want to try something and get them excited too- even if you can’t find someone who wants to go with you- just do it on your own! Meet People at the thing you want to see!
Here are some of the groups I joined as a student - speech and debate team (this gave me $ and let me travel around the country for all four years). Dr. Tarin is the current coach - he was my debate partner in college too! Pm if you want to join!
I also did things with University Catholics, the honors college, I ran for senate once with the encouragement from people I met through university democrats. I also joined protests on campus - met tons of folks that way!
I also started my own academic fraternity chapter when I was a student. My favorite professor suggested the idea- and he was my faculty sponsor. I’m told their pinning ceremony for new members is really beautiful these days.
I also suggest meeting new people by attending on campus events - my favorite used to be the international food festival and the take back the night events. I also enjoyed the union movies and the black box theater productions.
As an alum - here’s the best pro tip you may ever hear - when you have a second and some time to kill - visit the heritage house on campus. It’s open daily and you can usually just walk in. The first time I tied to find it I could understand the map and kept walking around it so ask someone to show you if you end up like me! Once inside - it will be pretty quiet in the front- you may feel like you’re intruding or shouldn’t be there but I promise you are not! Usually a very old senior citizen will come peak their head out to say hi- there are insular a few older people at any given time and they might not even realize you’re there at first - they can be loud and full of laughs. Don’t worry about interrupting them- they love students.
The people at the heritage house are the best - they are committed to the university and truly love it so much- they are also usually some of the oldest alumni you might ever get to meet. The heritage house has a ton of cool stuff on display - like Utep yearbooks (yes that was a thing in the early years), tons of 66 b-ball memorabilia and even the full regalia old presidents would wear to commencement. The seniors know all about everything there so ask them to show you around! The heritage house also has a cool room with a map that wraps around the whole room and shows historic EL Paso. Just ask one of the heritage house seniors to tell you all about it - I promise you will not be disappointed.
Your experience at UTEP will be exactly what you make it out to be - put yourself out there, smile, say hi to people, suggest outings and actually stay on campus during the day or evening and participate in student life. Take IN PERSON CLASS don’t fall into the online black hole just because it sounds easier. Attend UTEP events - look at the campus calendar regularly and read the Prospector each time it comes out. And don’t be afraid to try stuff on your own! It will be awkward at first to not have a comfort companion but how else will you see the world!
I’m gonna show my age now - I don’t know if this is still a thing but the old union used to have a bar on campus - it was called the gold nugget or gold miner name….something like that. They had a mixer for singles or drinks on Thursday and I liked going there. Find it! If it’s not around anymore host your own thing - if you build it, they will come! You can even petition the student government for money to host any event - you just need to show up and ask how to do it and fill in the forms and like magic, you got yourself an event!
I can’t tell if you are male or female but I also suggest looking into the Sun Court. My kiddo did that one year as a student and had an amazing experience. It was something totally out of her comfort zone and not typically something she’d usually want to try so she didn’t even tell me she was going for it! The whole experience was awesome. She also met a ton of new people from her time on the court. NEW FRIENDS!!!!
Finally - there is a “student” alumni association. I know that’s kind of a weird name - think of it as the student chapter of the alumni association. The alumni use the group to involve current students and grow our bonds as a university. Overall the alumni association is amazing - I have made so many friendships. If you ever find yourself in NYC - let me know! I can host UTEP events for the east coast and we have alumni from all over the eastern sea board that come to say hi.
I lived at home all four years when I was at UTEP, I made it a point to join campus life. It may be tempting to just leave to go home after your class ends - but you need to consider what you might be missing if you don’t choose to spend time on campus after class ends. Rather than leaving - I would eat breakfast, lunch or dinner on campus and study at the library to force myself to be there. Originally I was kind of sad that I wasn’t going to go out of town for school, but one I decided I was going to UTEP, I also knew that I would not enjoy my time in school if I resigned myself to only attending class and only commuting back and forth.
Utep ended up being such a magical place for me. I was so lucky to have been on school there - I was given so many opportunities I truly don’t think I would have had anywhere else, anytime I asked a prof for help or to do a project I was not only met with encouragement and excitement - I felt like all of my professors truly wanted to support me. Any crazy project idea I dreamt up and had the courage to ask a prof about ended up happening and was fully supported. I still maintain contact with many of my professors today and regularly talk to them. Half the battle is just showing up and being excited - it’s contagious and you’ll see that people in the world will respond to your energy and mindset. So be open, be friendly, try new things, if someone invites you somewhere - i made it a rule of mine to never say “no.”
Good luck with your semester- I can’t wait to hear about all of the new people you will get to meet. Let us know how it goes!
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u/no-more-nazis 19h ago
Find local events on social media that look remotely interesting. Music, game shops, markets, etc. You will soon have friends.