The Power of One
Collegian life was like a roller coaster—slow at first, but then zooming by before I knew what was happening. Freshman year was pretty slow. I looked forward to the meetings because they were fun, but I never got to know any of the members during that year.
Sophomore year was when things began to speed up. One of my sister’s friends, Leann, asked me if I could show her friend Katie where my collegian meets. She was a new member of my collegian, and she was the first member I really got to know.
We enjoyed getting involved with the games during the meeting and talked about how college life was handling as we saw each other around campus. Unfortunately, she was unable to come to the collegian outing to Rodizio’s Grill because of her work schedule.
Rodizio’s Collegian Outing Spring 2016
At first, I wasn't sure what to do, but I ended up sitting at a table of welcoming seniors. They were friendly and encouraging, helping me not to feel like a stranger at my own collegian outing. After that, those seniors nominated me for collegian vice president, and by some miracle, I got the position.
I was vice president of the Phi Sigma Rho Pirates for one semester, and was that a semester! I had more happening than I thought was possible, and it didn’t even stop there. The following school year, I was elected into the president position.
Why did I tell you all of this? To show you the power you have in your collegian.
As a member, you can help the officers to have a successful school year in your collegian life, especially at the start of the school year. Trust me when I say that we don’t really know what we’re doing at first. But we’re learning and listening as much as we can while trying to balance our personal lives and class schedules.
Were some of the collegian meetings awkward? Well, perhaps it was, but we probably already know that part (and probably still feel the butterflies in our stomachs). What did we do that was great? A little encouragement goes a long way.
How can you help your collegian out? Go into the collegian meeting and encourage the other members. And showing the officers support can make a huge difference in the atmosphere in the room. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you liked about the meeting!
Plus, there are huge opportunities for friendships to start in collegian meetings. I have met so many people because of some arrangement like chapel seats. Some people don’t like being placed somewhere simply because they have to, but I’m still friends with many of my chapel buddies over the years (#shoutout to Nick, Jeremy, Taylor, and Katie H.). The same can be said for my collegian members. The one girl I met back during my sophomore year? She’s our chaplain now, and I’ve appreciated her friendship over the last few years.
Now, do you HAVE to befriend everyone in collegian meetings? In a group of one hundred, that’s nearly impossible. But you can be friendly with those you don’t get to know and be an encouragement in their lives. Treat them like you're visiting a family member rather than having an impersonal business meeting.
"The rest of Collegian life just starts to fall into place when members start getting to know each other."
It just comes naturally after that.
So what makes a great collegian? You.
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