Let’s face the facts — New Student Orientation (NSO) is intimidating for almost everyone. It can be really hard for some people (*cough* me) to be introduced to a new setting and be expected to succeed immediately. However, it’s also such an exciting experience! You meet new people, make your first collegiate-level course schedule, and familiarize yourself with the beautiful campus that is your home for the next four years. Of course, as an incoming freshman, there were definitely mistakes I made that, in retrospect, avoiding would have helped me considerably at my NSO.

I cannot emphasize this enough: At NSO, Do. Not. Be. Shy.

I am introverted until you get to know me, which is a fatal flaw when you’re thrown into a group of a few hundred students and expected to leave having made a bunch of new friends. So, it is safe to say I didn’t apply my outgoing social skills to the best of my ability at NSO. I kept close to myself, and made minimal conversation with my soon-to-be peers. To no surprise at all, I didn’t make that many friends within those two days at UMass. Looking back at it, it would have been nice to have more familiar faces when I entered come fall semester, but I still assimilated to campus just fine.

Steps to Making the Most of NSO

An important thing to remember is that if you want to build friendships with the people you meet at NSO, you have to put in effort. It doesn’t always come naturally. Your NSO session is only with a fraction of the entire freshman class, so, once you get onto campus in the fall, you’re introduced to even more students than you were initially. You might never see the friends you make at NSO again, but it’s still nice to know people, and you never know where you’re going to meet a new best friend!

You go to a lot of events at NSO around campus. These events are sponsored by Amherst PD, on-campus clubs, academic departments, etc. There are times where you can choose the events you attend, so make sure you go to events that interest you! I went with a friend I made to a sorority recruitment info session, which was cool to learn about, but I didn’t (and still haven’t) joined a sorority. In retrospect, I probably should’ve gone to an information session for something that interested me, rather than follow my friend… pretty much, just attend what you find fascinating.

At these events, talk to your neighbors! Raise your hand! To reiterate, be outgoing! Everyone is in the same boat as you, only nobody says it. So don’t be afraid to be loud and out there even if it’s uncomfortable for you. I guarantee you that the person sitting next to you feels the exact same way.

Yes, assimilating to new environments can be harder for some people than others. Luckily, the friendly NSO staff members hired by UMass aim to make your first stay on campus as enjoyable as possible. Even if my NSO wasn’t as easy I expected it to be, I still liked seeing the campus and I ultimately did enjoy myself. It was hard at first, but in the end very worthwhile!