12 Ways to Make Friends in College
At Carthage, the next four years offer the potential to turn all of the new faces you see into new friendships. So how exactly do you make those lifelong friends everybody’s always talking about? Here are some tips from Carthage students and alumni:
1. Room with somebody you don’t know.
“My favorite Carthage memories include meeting my lovely roommate Nina Werger. I think no matter where you go, the people you meet make the place feel like home. I am incredibly fortunate to have met a friend for life and am beyond grateful for her.” — Serena Richardson ’24
2. Go to the Involvement Fair.
Carthage holds an Involvement Fair at the start of the fall and spring semesters. Want to meet people? Go to the Involvement Fair. “My number one recommendation is to join clubs you are interested in as soon as possible. If you are uncertain about clubs, attend the Involvement Fair on campus, where you can talk to members and learn more. Clubs will lead to having friends on campus and make your time on campus enjoyable.” — Andrew Kasica ’25
3. Get to know people in your classes.
“I chose Carthage because of the small class sizes that would allow me to build close relationships with my peers, and especially with my professors. Because of these small class sizes, I have gotten to know so many people who are interested in the same career path as me, and the professors have helped me immensely with making decisions for my future. Everyone has been very supportive!”— Giana Apostoli ’23
4. Join Residence Life Council.
Residence Life Council is a group that works to improve campus life at Carthage. RLC members work with residence hall directors to organize campus activities. Members often end up in leadership roles by their sophomore and junior years, becoming resident assistants (RAs) or assistant hall directors (AHDs). “The most important part of my job as a resident assistant (RA) is to make my residents feel comfortable. Most students have never lived away from home before college, so, as an RA, I help them with the transition to independence and build community to enhance their college experience.” — Jack Grossman ’21
5. Go to CAB events.
The Carthage Activities Board, or CAB, hosts a ton of events on campus every month, bringing in musicians, hypnotists, and comedians, and hosting other activities like movies and themed Bingo, a Carthage tradition. “Some of my favorite Carthage memories are the events that CAB puts on. For instance, I enjoy going to Bingo or doing a craft with my friends.” — Abby Trch ’23
6. Join a club on campus.
“I’ve joined SPS (Society of Physics Students), theatre, the Society of Engineers, and the microgravity research team, and I’m currently working on becoming a member of the Wind Orchestra. As you can tell, Carthage makes it easy to join multiple clubs, and each tries to work around scheduled time.” — Trevor Milne ’26
7. Get involved in Carthage Athletics.
“I play football at Carthage, and it has been a great experience. When I came to campus as a freshman, I didn’t have to worry about making friends because being a part of a team comes with built-in friendships that will last the rest of my life.” — Clayton Markech ’24
8. Try new things and attend campus events.
“My other advice is to do things you never tried before. Attend a Career Fair so you can network, go to events on campus hosted by clubs, and use all the resources available to you.” — Andrew Kasica ’25
9. Go on a J-Term study tour.
“The opportunities I have had at Carthage have been practically limitless, but the ones that stick out in my memory best are the two J-Term trips My favorite part of both of those wonderful trips was the bonds I made with the professors and fellow students on the trip. It is amazing how close you can become with someone after spending every day for two weeks together in a foreign country. With both of those trips, I started out not knowing anyone on them well and came home with lifelong friends.” — Mallory Jenkins ’21
10. Join Greek Life.
Carthage is home to 13 local and nationally affiliated sororities and fraternities, and they recruit new members every fall and spring. Recruitment is open to students who are second-semester freshmen or above and meet GPA requirements.
“I am heavily involved in Greek life! Attaining leadership within my sorority is an important part of my character development. First, I became the marketing director, then the recruitment chair, then most recently, president! In addition, I created my club called Bea. Magazine, which is new to Carthage and allows students to collaborate and use their creativity to create magazines based on pop culture and fashion! — Jana Ahlstrand ’24
11. Get an on-campus job.
“The accomplishment I’m most proud of is being hired as a student ambassador. I love Carthage so much, and it feels so good when I can talk and share my great experiences as a freshman with people who are interested in coming to Carthage. I got to meet so many new people who will be attending Carthage in the fall and other students who are already attending Carthage that I probably would’ve never met if I wasn’t a student ambassador.” — Ana Carolina Amadeu ’25
12. Dare to reach out.
“Be social, and don’t be shy. Go out and talk to people. You will meet so many cool people from all over with different backgrounds and stories. Knowing people and having people to talk to will make the year more fun.” — Kobe Gilbert ’25