Making Friends outside of your Faculty

Making friends can be hard enough on its own, so how can you meet people outside of your class, concentration or even faculty?

I am a fourth-year business student and I have met some of my best friends here at the University of Calgary, in my first year! The most crucial thing to remember when you enter in your first year at university is that you are all in the same boat! Every single person is worried about making friends, moreover, every single person is entering this new chapter in their lives.

I chose to live in the residence buildings on campus for my first year and to be on the same floor as students in my faculty. Rundle Floor 2 was designated to business students, which allowed us to grow a strong network and support system, as we could work on assignments together and study for the same finals.

People in residence would go for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day together at the Dining Center on campus. We would also walk to class and even go skating at the Olympic Oval together. We would have people from different floors come to our floor, to watch The Bachelor every Monday night. To this day, I still have Bachelor nights with the same people, 3 years later.

Nevertheless, some of my other best friends were on different floors and were in different programs. One of the most exciting things about the University of Calgary is the diverse and unique people you can meet! This diversity is evident within faculties; however, I urge you to not limit yourself to meeting people only in your faculty. To maximize your university experience, getting involved in clubs, or attending networking events hosted by the University of Calgary, can juristically enhance your experience. Regardless, if you are more introverted than extroverted, attending university is a great way to meet people who are like-minded. Finding people who are similar to you can be done in a plethora of ways, and meeting people outside of your faculty is one way to do so.

Meeting people outside of your faculty can happen through living in residence. As it provides an opportunity to meet people that you most likely would not see in your classroom or even see in the same building as you. Let’s say you do not decide to live in residence, instead, try to find a minor or take electives in a different faculty that interests you! That way, you are still exposed to different collectives with differing interests. It is important to be open-minded and try to meet as many new people as possible!

My group of friends all currently attend the University of Calgary. We have spent every birthday, exam season, late-night study sessions, and celebration together since our first year. The majority of us had met because we lived in the same residence building, Rundle. Our friend group consists of people studying in electrical engineering, biology, education, sociology, biological archeology, chemical engineering, and urban studies. Therefore, we rarely have any courses that overlap, so the chances of us meeting if most of us did not live-in residence, are slim to none. I love the friends that I have in business, that I met in different classes throughout my degree. However, the friends that I met outside of my faculty will always be the best part of my university experience.

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