To UNC's Class of 2022

With only a few months left before you move into your dorms in Chapel Hill, you’re probably thinking you’ve heard every piece of generic “going to college” advice in existence. You’ve gotten lectures about drinking, speeches beginning with, “when I was in school..,” and rants about keeping your GPA up. I’ve been there and heard them all. But, I want to give you some advice that will (hopefully) resonate, from an almost alumni to an almost first-year:

Get involved with the Campus Y.

I’m pretty sure I first heard mentions of UNC’s Campus Y at Orientation but, let’s be honest, I was barely awake during most of those lectures. It wasn’t until Fall Fest (after going back for seconds at most of the food trucks) that I came across the rows and rows of Campus Y booths. I visited just about every one, and was honestly a bit overwhelmed by the 31 different committees that I could choose from. Each one was valiantly combating a different social justice issue present in the Chapel Hill area and abroad, from Carolina Against Slavery and Trafficking (C.A.S.T.) to Linking Immigrants to New Communities (L.I.N.C.). At first, I had no idea what to choose, but after talking to the committee members at each individual booth, I was able to narrow down my interests. But only slightly.

Just like you probably will at Fall Fest 2018, I was a little promiscuous with my new Heelmail address and ended up subscribing to way too many listservs during Fall Fast last year (Don’t know what those are? Don’t fret, you’ll know soon enough). So, the following week, I got 23960214875 emails about interest meetings for the 23960214875 different organizations that peaked my interest at Fall Fest. Although the stream of emails flooding your inbox may seem overwhelming, GO TO THE INTEREST MEETINGS YOU ARE RAPIDLY BEING INVITED TO!

#1) Sometimes you get free food/candy

#2) You get to meet new people that feel just as awkward as you (and let’s face it, you’ll need more friends so you don’t have to eat lunch at Lenoir alone). I received both of these advantages by going to many different Campus Y interest meetings (btw, they’re usually in that building that looks like a random church parked by the Old Well) and I was also able to completely finalize my list of potential Campus Y committees to join.

I won’t go into detail about what committees I ended up joining (I don’t want to play favorites), but I cannot adequately verbalize just how important the work they do is and how rewarding it is to serve in each of them. It’s also worth mentioning that after only one year of service, I was able to advance in leadership in one of the committees I am involved in as well as in the Campus Y organization itself. There are numerous leadership positions available under the Campus Y, waiting to be filled by you over the next four years! While they (obviously) can be used as resume boosters, I personally admire that the members of the executive boards of all Campus Y committees expend as much elbow grease (if not more) as any other committee member; they are not just committee leaders in a logistical or symbolic sense…they put a lot of time and effort into what they do!

I’m sure each of you has participated in some form of community service in the past, being that you are Carolina students (Congratulations on your acceptance btw). But, I want you to know that the Campus Y is more than just an outlet for serving others. By getting involved with this incredible organization, you will be able to find issues plaguing the community, the nation, and/or even the world that you genuinely care about and make tangible change.

Well, there you have it - some of the most important advice I can give to an incoming class of Carolina students, other than try not to graduate. (Please take it!!!!!!!)