Making Connections in Your First Year
My name is Elizabeth, and I'm from Hamilton, MA. When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to be in a city, but I never imagined I’d end up at an all-women’s institution. Yet, here I am! During my first year, I was assigned a single dorm in Hewitt. At the start of the New Student Orientation Program (NSOP), I was worried that I wouldn't meet anyone because it seemed like most students found their friends or learned about social events through their roommates. However, I quickly realized that these fears were just that—fears.
As NSOP came to a close, Columbia held a club fair. Despite the late August 90-degree heat, I walked up and down the aisles seeing the wide variety of clubs Columbia had to offer. I passed by groups like the Columbia Art Market Society (CAMS), the Marketing Association Club, the Fashion Club, the Ski Club, the Spectator, The Blue and White, and so many more that caught my interest. I signed up for nearly everything, putting my email down to explore how I could get involved.
A few days after the fair, I walked into my first-year seminar class, Artful Adaptations. I was immediately surrounded by chatty, energetic women eager to start their first year. As I randomly sat down, I ended up next to a girl from New York City named Ahana. We started talking and discovered that we both lived on the same floor in Hewitt. Excitedly, Ahana turned to a girl next to her and announced our connection, quickly introducing me to Chloe, her roommate. Sitting across from us were Elsie and Maren. As the semester progressed—two books and three papers later—a group chat was created for our Artful Adaptations class.
When midterms approached, I found myself added to more group chats for classes like Introduction to Film and Media and Introduction to Psychology. Through these chats, study group sessions began to form. In these sessions, we exchanged notes, filled out diagrams together and started to learn more about each other’s interests outside of the subjects we were learning. It was in one of these study groups that I met my friend Elika.
As the emails from the clubs I signed up for during NSOP flooded in, more meetings and events began to pile up. A couple of weeks into school, I noticed that CAMS was hosting an event with Miles Greenburg. The event was going to be held in a classroom in a building on Columbia’s campus that I wasn’t familiar with. When I arrived, I began walking up and down the white hallways, feeling a little lost. As I wandered, I bumped into someone who looked just as confused as I felt. She was carrying a black bag and wearing a cute jacket. I approached her and asked if she was looking for the CAMS meeting. She said she was. I asked her name, and she introduced herself as Grace.
Throughout the first semester, I texted people to see if they wanted to grab coffee, bagels, or lunch or dinner at one of the dining halls—my favorite being John Jay’s. I also attended all the club events I could, learning more about what Barnard had to offer. I discovered Greek life at Columbia and also learned about the Athena Fellowship program, which I decided to apply for in the spring semester.
Before winter break, I had my interview for the Athena Fellowship. A few days later, I received an email informing me that I had been selected as one of the ten fellows for the Spring 2024 cohort. I also learned about the dates for Greek life rush, which took place the second weekend after we returned to school. When I got back to campus, I dove into my classes, including Introduction to Art History II. I was grateful to have many of my friends in that class, like Maren, Devon, Grace, and Jacqueline.
When rush weekend arrived, I attended my first sorority meeting to learn more about the Greek life community. Many of my friends were going through the process with me, and I met even more women from Columbia. Although I ultimately decided that Greek life was not my thing, I’m happy for my friends who have found a community that they love and invite me to. By the second semester of my freshman year, I had become a general Bodies Member of CAMS, a fellow in the Athena Fellowship program, and a student in Introduction to Art History, which inspired me to pursue an Art History major. As my community at Barnard and Columbia expanded, I continued seeking ways to get involved. It was through one of the Athena fellows, Tali, that I learned about the Barnard Student Admission Representative (BSAR) program.
Now, in the spring of my sophomore year, I have officially declared a double major in English and Art History. I am also on the e-board of CAMS, working on the associate marketing team with Maren and Grace. And, I’m a new BSAR for Barnard! My time at Barnard has flown by faster than I ever imagined, and I’m so thankful for the incredible women I’ve met along the way. They are passionate, supportive, and always uplifting each other, standing up for what they believe in. I’ve found a community here that is dedicated to pursuing their interests and careers with the same enthusiasm and effort that every Barnard woman shares. And, even though a little over a year ago I was just a scared first year in a single, by signing and showing for activities, I have learned not only what Barnard has to offer, but about my own interests.