At Kenyon, I believe students meet at least three types of people who impact them significantly over the course of their college careers. Naturally, these individuals will vary from person to person, and some students will meet more than three people who influence their lives. For the purpose of this article, however, here are the people I expect to get to know during my time on the Hill.
The Friend
Source: http://giphy.com/gifs/parks-and-rec-parksedit-leslie-x-ann-mWCF11WFlLeRW
No one will ever be able to match the bond between Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins, but I guarantee you will find someone at Kenyon who clicks with you. The Friend will be someone with whom you can stay up late studying, run next to at the KAC, or share your deep love of Parks and Recreation and baked goods.
Where you’ll find them:
In your residence hall, on your sports team, at the KAC, in the classroom, at Peirce, at parties, in clubs or campus organizations. If I were to write a how-to guide for where to find friends, it would say: go to a place you like or attend an event you enjoy and look around. The people you see there are probably people who also like that same thing, and similar interests are a good starting point for establishing friendships. Who knows, if you’re lucky, you may even find someone who sparks that Leslie/Ann connection!
How to make the most of your time with them:
We’ve all heard the spiel: college is the best four years of your life, the time will fly by, etc, etc, etc. Regardless of the truth of these statements, you should try to make the most of your time with your college friends, if simply to make your life here more enjoyable! Workout together, go to dinner in Mount Vernon, study at Wiggins, explore the BFEC, attend an interesting lecture, take a trip to Honey Run Waterfall, binge watch your favorite show on Netflix. Do whatever your heart desires! Just make sure to bring someone along with you for the fun.
The Challenger
Source: http://giphy.com/gifs/llama-bring-it-on-mVJojMQvDwixG
The Challenger is harder to define than the Friend, but trust me, you’ll know who I’m talking about. This is the annoying student in class who always has something incredibly intelligent to say about every topic you discuss, the professor who assigns a large amount of reading and then pushes you in class to think more deeply on an already-hard-to-understand subject, or the naturally talented musician in symphony whose music sounds even more beautiful each time he or she plays. These people will leave you perplexed and vaguely irritated whenever you interact with them, but the most important quality of the Challengers is that they will make you want to become better, whether that means smarter and more studious, athletic and skilled, or anything in between.
Where you’ll find them:
In the classroom, at the KAC, in your residence hall, maybe even at work. You can’t really predict where you’ll meet the person who frustrates you while simultaneously giving you the urge to work harder. Once you’ve met your Challenger, you’ll probably see him or her everywhere you go on campus—a constant reminder to push yourself even further.
How to make the most of your time with them:
You’ll certainly encounter people who frustrate you in life, but few of these individuals will also make you want to improve yourself like the Challenger does. No matter how much they bother you, Challengers always prompt you to act, so take advantage of this encouragement while you have it. Talk to your Challengers. Ask them about their study technique or how they became so good at what they do. Learn their ways. Maybe with the right combination of motivation, skill, and dedication you will even surpass them, achieving the ultimate goal: turning the Challenger into the Challenged.
The Mentor
Source: https://hhqi.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/angelou/
Don’t you wish you could have Maya as a mentor? I certainly do. Hearing her say amazingly inspiring statements such as the one above would make me constantly reevaluate what I was doing with my life and how I could improve, which is exactly what you should look for when seeking a Mentor at Kenyon!
Where you’ll find them:
In the classroom, at academic lectures or presentations, at the CDO, at office hours, in clubs or campus organizations, on sports teams, in your residence hall, literally ANYWHERE. Potential Mentors are everywhere at Kenyon. You just need to have the courage to approach them and be prepared with a conversation starter other than, “Hi! You are so intelligent, talented, and inspiring, and I wish I could BE YOU. Will you be my Mentor?” Depending on the person, I suppose that could work! I mean, how can you say ‘no’ to someone who finds you so impressive they want to learn from you? Still, it’s probably not the best way to go.
How to make the most of your time with them:
Ask questions: “How did you become xxx?” “What is the greatest challenge you faced?” “How did you overcome it?” “What is the most important lesson you’ve learned?” “How are you always so [insert inspiring characteristic about Mentor here]?” Basically, any question you feel will help you gain a better understanding of what you want out of life (and that is also something your Mentor is capable of answering) is fair game. Don’t stop there, though. Make sure to also seek out their advice. If you have a difficult decision to make or you experienced a significant life event and need to talk it out with someone, your Mentor could be just the person to turn to for help. More than likely, he or she will have some wonderful words of wisdom to share with you that will make your problem disappear or at least shrink to a manageable size.
As I said earlier, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it does address a fairly large and important aspect of the college experience: meeting new people. Kenyon is a completely new environment for the vast majority of students, and navigating this unfamiliar territory surrounded by a sea of strangers intimidates the best of us. Focusing in on these three categories takes away a bit of this fear. Hopefully, it even inspires you to actively search for individuals who will help you make the most of your time at Kenyon.