From Intimidated To Involved: How I Revolutionized My College Experience - NMU Blog

Hi everyone, my name is Kenzie and I wrote this blog post to show you the truths about getting involved on campus and combating the initial intimidation freshmen face in a new environment. I titled this post: "From Intimidated To Involved: How I Revolutionized My College Experience." And, I guess, without further ado, here it goes.

My name is Mackenzie Meyer and I would like to think that I am well versed in the whole “getting involved” thing. I say this not because my road to being in several student organizations was easy, but because I trusted the process. I believed in the age-old idea that getting involved on campus will maximize your college experience and change your life. I write this blog, not to preach to you about personal involvement like the adults in my life did, but to give you evidence that sometimes parental proverbs can be right. This is my story on how I went from being afraid to put myself out there, to holding leadership roles in on-campus organizations.

Three years ago, I moved to Northern on a whim. I went to Wildcat Weekends and became enamored with the idea of living in Marquette. However, high school me shoved the idea of moving away from everything I had ever known to the back of her mind. My hometown, Grand Rapids, is six and a half hours away. I knew maybe five people on the entire campus when I arrived, one of which I happened to be suitemates with. Regardless of my close proximity to a childhood friend, I vowed to make my own connections, or at least try to. Initially, I turned to Housing and Residence Life to build a group of friends from, honestly, the ground up. Although I was successful in creating strong relationships in the residence halls, some of which turned out to be lifelong, I still felt isolated socially as I saw more and more people join various student organizations.

The idea of joining a student organization seemed unnecessarily daunting to my freshman self. The idea of being “new” to something was a foreign concept to a girl who had never been the “new kid” at any of her previous schools. I grew up with almost all of the classmates I graduated with and attending a meeting run by complete strangers scared me. I was scared of hypotheticals like, "What if they don’t like me?" Despite all the things I manifested to worry about, I entertained the idea of trying out for the club volleyball team after talking to my sociology lecture partner. Knowing that I had played volleyball since middle school, she kept telling me that I should just try out; there was seemingly nothing to lose except a $5 tryout fee. Within a few class periods, she convinced me to go to tryouts even though I figured I would get cut. Regardless of my apprehension, I showed up and had a good time. I even made the team.

Initially, I was timid around my teammates; I stood quietly on the sidelines of drills and avoided confrontation. My entire first semester on the team consisted of me becoming accustomed to a few big changes: a new team, teammates as coaches, and a different sense of a “home court.” As I adjusted, I was cautious around upperclassmen; seniors seemed so much older to me back when I first joined. In spite of my anxieties towards being on a coachless team of strangers, I grew to love my teammates. Weeks passed and I made one friend, and then two, then three. Before I realized it, I began looking forward to practice. Fast forward three years later, practices are now my favorite time of the week. Initially the shy freshman on the team, I soon became vice president and ultimately, the current president. I followed my passions and I know sometimes that can be intimidating, but, trust me, it’s worth the ride.

Over the course of the last year (2020) I saw a different side of Northern that, unfortunately, the underclassmen have only come to know. Pre-Covid at Northern was different. Jamrich Hall was filled with students, student organizations were bustling, Club Sports tryouts were filled with incoming freshmen, and the Berry Events Center was at capacity for almost every home hockey game. Covid lessened involvement for good reason, as the pandemic was a scary time for us all. However, as restrictions lessen, I want students to remember Northern’s roots. Utilize your resources (sometimes that can be the person you sit next to in sociology). Fortunately, Northern makes it easy to physically get involved on campus… even during a global pandemic. If you’re passionate about something, I’m sure you can find your tribe within one of the university’s current 214 student organizations. If NMU doesn’t have quite what you’re looking for, the Center for Student Enrichment makes it easy to make your own club instead.

A place like The Hub is a great place to start when looking for clubs to join. All 214 on-campus student organizations along with their contact information, mission statements, and website links are all found in one place. Not only does The Hub have information for all campus organizations, but it also provides a calendar of upcoming events. All campus-wide events can be found on this site including Homecoming events, academic colloquiums, keynote speakers, etc. Here you can register to attend an event as well as obtain descriptions, times, and dates of chosen events. Not only is The Hub an excellent resource to use for getting involved on campus, but I also recommend joining Superior Edge as well. During my exploratory freshman year, I joined Superior Edge without knowing much about it. Now, having completed all of the edges, I can tell you that it helped incentivize me to get involved. This program is nationally recognized, and at first I simply thought of it as a resume booster. Although Superior Edge successfully does that by listing all of your accomplishments in one place as well as categorizing them, it helps push you to do more independently. Through Superior Edge, I was able to slowly climb out of my comfort zone and felt supported while doing so. Getting involved doesn’t have to be incredibly strenuous. Sometimes all the resources you need to succeed are right under your nose, you just have to know how to use them.

I can say full-heartedly, Marquette has been an amazing place to grow as a person, athlete, friend, and leader. I know that the initial idea of getting involved on campus can prove to be unsettling as well as uncomfortable, but that’s also a part of life. All of the anxieties that I had before joining student organizations and trying out for the club volleyball team seem minuscule now. Currently approaching my senior year, I thank myself for my willingness to try new things. I thank myself especially for my willingness to step into the Vandament Arena three years ago for a tryout that I almost talked myself out of attending.

I paved my college experience as uniquely as you can pave your own. My story is similar to that of my peers because Northern has a curious way of supporting its students. If you want something, I firmly believe that NMU will stop at nothing to help you achieve whatever that something may be.

In conclusion, I’m thankful for the choices my freshman self made to get involved. I’ve learned a lot of lessons over the past three years, yet one of the biggest is that being welcoming goes a long way, at this university and in life. Sometimes I forget my freshman self, she seems like a stranger to me now. However, I was the embodiment of a shy girl who uprooted her life to come here. Getting involved may not be psychologically easy to do for some, and being apprehensive to switch up a routine is valid. Regardless of apprehension, involvement starts with the older generation of Wildcats. Involvement starts with people like my sociology partner. Don’t be afraid to reach out to fellow students, classmates, and neighbors; they might be your teammate one day. To all of my fellow Wildcats, I hope my story encourages you to try something new. I hope my story shows you that it’s okay to be scared, but breaking boundaries may be worth it in the long run. Your college experience is uniquely yours. Follow your passions and run into the unknown with fervor. Go ‘Cats!