After almost a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, being in virtual college hasn’t gotten any easier. One of the most challenging aspects of remote learning is socialization. College is a time for exploring, hanging out and having fun. Being stuck inside and only able to attend virtual events has definitely made things difficult. So, our members explored the ways we’ve met people during the pandemic.
Nina Fichera
To be honest, the most socialization I’ve done is over the Internet. I found a discord group for the freshman class, so I talk to everyone there just about every day. There are maybe six of us who are active that often, but it’s a lot better than nothing!
Kiersten Coates
I’ve always been the kind of person who is open to making new friends, but I just love the few close friends I already have. I don’t actively seek new ones and I have surprised myself with how “to-myself” I’ve become. It can be hard to put yourself out there, especially during times like these, but just be yourself with an open mind to meeting new people. I took a three week job in a temporary location and was expecting to just show up and work, but instead I made small talk with some of the workers and our conversations led to friendships! We realized we have a lot of common interests and although we don’t work together anymore, we still keep in touch.
Rebecca Williamson
As a senior, I have an amazing group of very close friends, but I still love making more and meeting new people. I recognize that it’s very difficult to do during the pandemic. Most of the new friends I’ve met are through clubs, such as Her Campus at Geneseo. People in the same organizations have the same interests as you, so they’re a great place to put yourself out there.
Lucy Laats
Being a freshman, I was already nervous about making friends, even without a pandemic. Luckily for me, my roommates are super nice and we spend a lot of time together. In addition, I made an extra effort to talk to the people I got assigned to work with in partner and group projects to hopefully make friends over the project we were working on.
Dara Scolnick
Honestly, I met my closest friends this year by accidentally running into an old classmate on main street. I didn’t even recognize her at first, but we made a plan to hang out again. From there, I met even more people through her and it’s been a blast.
Sarah Sharples
I think trying to connect with people over social media and through classes have been major tools for me. A lot of the people I’m friends with now are people that I Insta-stalked before coming to campus or people that messaged me over Zoom during one of our classes. It sounds a little silly, but I think it’s the best we can do right now!
We understand that making friends, especially during a global pandemic, is hard. So, we hope that our experiences have shown different ways that we’ve met people.