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One great thing about UMass Amherst is that its size and sociability give students from any background a fun and fast-paced environment to grow and learn. This is what Christopher, a junior from Winthrop, Mass. has learned in his time in Western Massachusetts. Coming from Winthrop, a small town located between the Greater Boston area and the North Shore, Christopher was in for a pivotal transition when he decided to come to UMass. He recalled how strange his adjustment to going to school here was, considering “there’s more kids in my lectures than there were in my graduating class.” But Christopher, like other new Minutemen, could take advantage of his school’s size and create a unique community for himself.

UMass was by far Christopher’s first choice for a school ever since he toured as a high school junior. “I remember the second we left I was like, ‘alright this is where I’m gonna go to school,’” he said. Along with UMass’s beautiful and dynamic campus, he was also wooed by the Isenberg School of Management, which he called “the best business school I got into.” And along with his marketing major, Christopher is studying journalism, not only for its exciting classes but also to improve as a writer.

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As a super-involved student, Christopher lives his day-to-day life here by the mantra “The busier I am, the more productive I am.” He worked to make himself busy by trying as many clubs and organizations as he could find. Christopher did not stick with all of them, but he found diverse friends in the ones he enjoyed. “My friends on the club lacrosse team are a hundred times different than my friends that write for the school newspaper, and they’re so different from my tour guide friends,” says Christopher. He’s used these varied perspectives to find out more about himself, glad about the gigantic world he discovered outside his small town.