As I sat with some ladies of Her Campus at UMKC, we discussed our shared difficulty in meeting and making new concrete friendships. As college students, there is a certain expectation for social life standards, especially in a vibrant city like Kansas City, Missouri. However, as I am in my final year at UMKC, I realize that social life for a college student is unexplainably lacking.
Coming to UMKC, it was clear that sororities and fraternities held little importance, there were no major college sports teams to cheer on and school mixers were a rarity. On the plus side, Kansas City was known to be one of the most unique and vibrant cities in the Midwest. In my mind, the life of the city would easily make up for the lackluster social environment at school. Well… I was wrong.
If you can relate to this struggle, I am here to tell you that hope is not lost for a college student at UMKC. You can find your people; you just have to know where to look.
In my four years at UMKC and in this city, I have learned that consistency is the best way to make solid connections with other people. In other words, it is important to plan on seeing a person, or group of people, on a regular basis. There are many ways to ensure consistency, but the best way is to join a club. Clubs are, in my opinion, the best way to find people who have similar interests and who are dedicated to consistent meetings. Luckily for us, Kansas City has countless resources for group meetups and clubs.
First off, if you haven’t heard of the popular source known as Meetup, it’ll be the first place you want to go. Meetup lists hundreds of groups and clubs in Kansas City and makes it super easy to get involved. This is also a great way to make friends outside of the university setting while getting a chance to explore the city!
Another awesome resource to rely on when trying to make connections is RooGroups. RooGroups is UMKC’s way of allowing students to explore all clubs and organizations on campus. This site can help you find other students with similar majors and interests, as well as build connections with people in the UMKC community.
