by Keegan Malan 

It’s tempting when you go to college to stay within the bounds of your department. What I mean by this is that you’re naturally going to be close to the people within that department, and it’s easy not to branch out, to just stay as you are. But it’s also important that you meet other people and grow close to them who belong to other departments. You want to build your own community of people with diverse backgrounds and majors. You can do this many different ways at PUC. I know I did.

Being an English major, your community is rather small and tight-knit. English is probably the smallest department on campus, and so we stick together, and I was very comfortable in that community. But I branched out all the same. Intramurals were a great way of doing that. Sports have always been great at bringing people together. When you have teammates, you naturally connect with them in the sport. When you play together, there’s almost a process of osmosis. You learn things about them without having to ask. They display their personality in how they play the game. And you’re having fun at the same time, and having fun with others is always a way to make friends and branch out. I only did intramurals once, and that was my first quarter here. I didn’t know anyone at school, but through intramurals, I met people I became friendly with and knew I could have fun with when we played. It was something to look forward to. 

Beyond intramurals, clubs are also a great way to meet other people. I actually joined the EMP Club. It was a good time. There was good food and good company. When you’re in a club outside of your department, you’re going to have to interact with people you don’t know, and you will meet some people you would never interact with otherwise. And through club activities, you can build relationships with others. 

Of course there are classes. You’re not going to just take classes that have to do directly with your major. So you’re going to be sitting next to people who are taking the same general education classes, whose majors are vastly different from your own. You might not have to talk to them, but inevitably, you’ll be put in a work group for a homework assignment or for a group project. When I was taking Interpersonal Communication, I was assigned a group project. I always hate group projects because I’m an introvert, and honestly, I still do, but for this group specifically, I had a good time, because I met people with whom I could talk to. I had a lot of fun working with them and meeting with them. We had things in common, and while we did the grunt work, we laughed and joked, and the time passed by much faster as a result. They introduced me to thinking differently about subjects I was stuck in my ways, and I did the same for them. The project was a success, and it was all because we worked together as a team and communicated. 

Branching out is a hard thing to do. It still is for me. But I know from experience that it’s a good thing, an important thing, and something that we all need to do. It will help us build friendships and help us grow as people. And isn’t that just great?