We are always meeting student leaders who are going the extra mile to make others feel welcome and build community culture on their campuses. We realized that one great way to learn from each other is to spotlight different students who have made an impact on the lives of their fellow students.
Meet Kaylee Gutschow, a student at The University of Akron. She’s a Nursing major, part of the Residence Hall Program Board and is the Major Events Chair on campus. We asked her about when she first felt most involved and how she involves new students.
What was the first moment you felt you belonged at your school?
The first moment that I felt like I belonged at the University of Akron was just within the first couple of days after moving to campus. I was in a freshman leadership group called the Emerging Leaders and we went through an incredible training week. On the first three days of the training week we had speakers Tracy Knofla, Tom Krieglstein and Dace Coleman. It was these speakers who made me feel like I belonged at the university by helping me to learn more about others and myself and helping me to build relationships. I realized that I had a true passion to lead and inspire others, and that I loved to do random acts of kindness. These speakers led me to be more present in everyday situations and to understand and love all types of people. These realizations and sparked passions led me to truly feel like I belonged for the first time in my life.
Have you ever helped someone go from a neutral to more engaged?
This past summer I lived on campus and worked for the Residence Hall Program Board (RHPB) and we had to talk about our events and the Emerging Leaders Program during New Student Orientation. I was casually talking to a student and his mom about life in the Residence Halls, and I told them about the Emerging Leaders Program. The student had not planned on getting involved with much in college, but by sharing my experiences and facts about the program he decided to apply and was accepted to it. After the training week, he came up to me and told me how thankful he was that I encouraged him to join the program. He now wants to get involved with more things on campus, and truly wants to lead others. It was inspiring to see how much he grew over the course of just one short week. At first, he was extremely shy and reserved, but eventually became much more outgoing and talkative to other students.
What kind of events do you think create the most connections?
I believe that smaller, more personal events create the most connections. These events must have activities that specifically make people engage with one another, and even step out of their comfort zones. I think that some of the best connections are made unexpectedly with people that you may never have talked to without the facilitation of another person, and also when the both of you are vulnerable. Events that can do all of this, bring people together, and create real conversations, are the perfect ones to make connections at.
Do you have any organizations at your school that you have experience with to draw new students in?
