For college freshmen, the start of the fall term is exciting, hectic, and most of all, nerve wracking. In a new environment, sometimes thousands of miles from home, incoming students can often struggle with transitioning into college life. This can be especially true for freshmen women arriving to a historically male-dominated campus.
Many freshmen women have lost the support network of women from home and are sometimes lost with how to connect to older girls on campus. It is our job as women who are into our college careers to look out for our younger counterparts and help them navigate Dartmouth. The knowledge we have gained about academics and social life is something valuable that we should be sharing with any freshman woman looking for a support system. Here are ways to share the love and make our incoming freshmen class feel at home on our campus.
- Befriend freshmen on your team or in your club
Most upperclassmen are involved in an organization on campus whether it be cheerleading, mock trial, or debate team. These groups accept new members, many of them freshmen, in the fall. Make a conscious effort to talk to freshmen women at meetings and invite them to get lunch with you sometime. A lot of new students are too intimidated to reach out themselves, so make the first step for them! You can share tips and tricks on how to balance extracurriculars and academics while making a new friend in the process.
- Ask to be their partner for a project
Coming into a new classroom after spending four years in one building with the same teachers and friends can be overwhelming and isolating, especially when it comes to group projects and discussions. One friendly upperclassman (you!) can help calm those feelings for some of the younger classmates. If you see the familiar look of panic cross a girl’s face when the professor says to break off into pairs for an assignment, invite her to work with you. She will probably be relieved, and you can avoid the awkward task of arguing with your BFF when she shows up late to your project meeting… again.
- Invite freshmen to be your dates to social events
Invite freshmen women as your date to tails (parties between a sorority and fraternity before the Greek houses open up to everyone else for the night), semi, or formal (after the frat ban ends, of course). This will allow them to meet more people and also help them decide if they want to rush at the start of their sophomore year. Additionally, you can introduce them to social spaces on campus in a way that might be safer than them going alone.
- Join a peer mentor program
The final, and most obvious, way to support freshmen women is to get involved in peer mentoring. Dartmouth’s network of mentorship is far and wide, and there are many specialized ways for you to get involved. From taking a job as a UGA to becoming an International Student Mentor to joining the First Year Student Enrichment Program, the possibilities are varied and fulfilling. To learn more about how to get involved with these resources in the future, click https://students.dartmouth.edu/opal/community-leadership/mentoring-programs.
Although you might have spent part of your freshmen fall lonely and more than a little confused, it doesn’t have to be that way for other girls. You have the power to make an impact on someone’s experience at Dartmouth. Take the time this term to reach out to younger classmates and offer them the support they need; you won’t regret it.