The Reboot of ‘Humans of Marist College’ and What It Means For Marist Students
It started off as a capping project – one of the most brilliant and inspiring capping projects Marist has seen in a while, might I add – but it became a phenomenon. A phenomenon to create awareness of the humans who inhabit the same area as every one of us, a phenomenon to highlight the special something that we all possess, and a phenomenon to prove that people still care about other people; Humans of Marist College invariably touched countless souls since its start two years ago.
Think about how many times you pass by people as your music blares through your headphones and you determine whether you know them well enough to say hello, or pretend that you never knew they existed just because they’re outside your “clique.” In a relatively small school community like Marist, it can be far too easy to find one group of friends and just stick with them throughout your college career. But then you start seeing the faces of these humans on the HOMC page; these faces who you once shared a class with, who you held the door for last week, who you saw perform on stage, and suddenly, their lives and smiles are opened up to you and you feel like you can relate to them, and not just for that fleeting moment, but every time you see them thereafter.
This January, the beloved Humans of Marist College page was revamped and brought back to life after a brief hiatus and I had the pleasure of corresponding with the new coordinator of the project to talk about their thoughts on HOMC and how Marist students can benefit and take the lessons from HOMC to heart. As anonymity is important to the project, I will refer to them as “C” for coordinator so as not to imply anything of their identity, since even I don’t know who it is and that’s not important to the work that they’re doing, anyway.
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Her Campus: How did you get to be involved with HOMC?
Coordinator: Ever since HOMC started a couple of years ago, I loved the concept. I’m probably not alone when I say that I was disappointed when it didn’t continue so I decided to reach out to the person who started it. We spent a whole semester talking back and forth about our visions for HOMC and eventually determined that they lined up, and I feel honored that she trusted me with her project.
HC: What’s your favorite part?
C: My favorite part about running HOMC is getting to meet so many new people and hearing the stories that they have to share. Marist has so many unique people here that I feel lucky that I get to hear so many different stories. It’s interesting because before I started doing this it seemed to me like Marist was a small school, but my opinion on that has changed because I’ve met so many people in my short time doing it already – it’s amazing.
HC: What is the goal of HOMC?
C: The goal of HOMC is to connect our community even more, I would say. What I hope to continue doing is bringing stories to the Marist community that they can relate to or admire to show that we’re not all alone. I feel like that’s why HOMC was so successful when it started. It allowed people to see different sides of people and different stories that we might have never known and I think that’s an exciting aspect of it.
HC: Everyone I talk to always wonders the same thing… how do you do it? Ask a stranger for their picture and get them to open up, that is; is it awkward, do you ever feel unsure of yourself?
C: It is somewhat of a different concept to just go up to strangers and ask them to open up to you. Essentially that’s exactly what it is though. I’m lucky [because] a lot people do know about HOMC so when I mention that, it’s not too awkward but of course I’ve had some encounters where they don’t know what I’m talking about. For the most part, though, everyone has been really open to me and let me take up their time, which I’m so thankful for. As far as who I interview, there’s really no specific reasoning behind the people I choose. For the most part it’s just who I happen to run into on a day when I’m looking to do interviews (except President Murray and Robin Torres of course). It’s completely random, but I think that’s the best part.
HC: What do you think the impact of HOMC has been?
C: It’s really exciting to me that people are still following HOMC and reacting well to it. I wasn’t sure how the reboot of it would be received but I’m excited to see that people are still curious about, well, the humans of Marist. I think that since HOMC started it’s made our strong community even stronger by bringing forward stories and connecting our community through that [process], which is my favorite part.
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Lastly, I asked them for advice on behalf of all the students here, and they replied, “My advice to Marist students would be what I’ve learned by working on this: Don’t be afraid to talk to strangers, to learn about one another and branch out a little. We can all learn from one another and once we start practicing that, I promise it’s so worth it.”
In the end, this article, this project, this life; they are what you make of them. You take what you want from it, and you get out of it what you wish to and nothing more, but whether you see this project as advice, as inspiration, or as a challenge, I urge you to take its mission to heart. I know what it’s like to be unsure of yourself around strangers or semi-strangers, but I also know what it’s like to have your day made when someone remembers your name or sends a smile your way even though you barely talk anymore. I often hear people say: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” and if nothing else, I am at least trying to make an effort to be friendlier to people with a smile or a wave as I see them and (not to be corny but…) you can too!
No, we can’t all stop strangers and ask them their life stories, but the point is to remember that we all have a story; we all have things we’re proud of, things we’re struggling with, and things that we’re trying to change. Don’t forget that the greatest power we have as a human being is the power to impact the lives of others, and don’t underestimate the power of a simple smile from a stranger.
Somewhere, somehow, your smile just might brighten someone’s day.
To see more of their inspiring work, check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/humansofmaristcollege/
*All pictures courtesy of Humans of Marist College on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humansofmaristcollege/ *