Events on Campus

As a Senior, I acknowledge that the perspective may not be the most relevant to the readers of this blog. After all, the Undergraduate Admissions Office’s primary audience is prospective Freshman. But I think that my perspective after an “average lifespan” of a Loyola student can be helpful. They say hindsight it 20/20, and I am in a unique position to see my time at Loyola more clearly than others.

Which brings me to the subject of this blog’s post: on campus events. If there is one thing I regret it is not going to as many on campus events as I could have. My advice to incoming Freshman and underclassmen is to make a habit of going to events that may not interest you.

As somebody who hosts events on a professional level I can tell you that there’s no such thing as an uninteresting event. The amount of work, time and planning that goes into hosting an event on campus is great enough that you are guaranteed to have an enlightening experience.

I believe I can say with confidence that I have enjoyed every event I attended on campus and that I never left an event saying, “Well, I got nothing out of that.”

A lot of events offer free food, t-shirts or other prizes just for showing up. So that is reason enough to go. But the content is what will make you stay. At Loyola you will be at the center of a multicultural, multidisciplinary contingent of ideas and activities. That experience is unlikely to be duplicated any time soon.

So don’t make excuses such as, “I do not have time today,” or “I will start going to more events later.” Because I can tell you, you will always feel like you’re too busy, and you will always put it off, if you don’t make it a habit not to do so early.

I’ve listened to famous philosophers speak, heard great music from Loyola’s a cappella groups, tasted amazing middle eastern food, learned about the fascinating culture surrounding political cartoons, learned how educators are trying to improve my college experience and more. Each time I go to an event I leave knowing more about a part of the world that until then I had no idea even existed.

College events will open you up and pleasantly surprise you, if you let them. So just give them the chance, you won’t get it again.