My #GetInvolved Experience - Natasha Wright '22
July 23, 2019 | 3:00 PM
Natasha Wright '22, Social Work Major
The college experience is different for everyone. For me, it was starting a year after I had graduated from high school, going to a college 20 minutes away from my parent's front door, and living with and attending classes with people younger than me. It was the perfect storm for avoiding campus involvement at all costs, until one Sunday when I went out on a limb and decided to go to a local MacMurray junior varsity football game in town with people from my dorm. That’s where my college experience changed. It was at that game that I met my lifelong friends and found my MacMurray school pride. I’d never been a big fan of sports, but I found myself wanting to go to football and soccer games with my friends to cheer for my peers.
Around homecoming, being involved on campus meant getting my family involved. Seeing my sister on campus with her little MacMurray sweatshirt on gave me the push I needed to make it through the rest of the semester. During my first semester, the football games, soccer games and going to my classes were the only opportunities I took to get involved, but those connections I had certainly made all the difference second semester.
During my second semester, I was a busy bee. Outside of class, I made the choice to work off-campus at Sonic, I found a job on campus as the social work department intern, I joined a sorority on campus and I continued making more friends than I could count. I also traveled to the St. Louis area and up to Chicago (which is a whole different experienced as an adult) to visit some of the friends I made at Mac.
Being an intern came with a lot of cool experiences; my favorite being getting to work with P.A.W.S and Faith from Jax Yoga to practice self-care during finals week. Pledging to Phi Nu was a huge commitment, but the sisters I found at the end of the journey were more than worth it. I never pictured myself joining Greek life on campus, but surprisingly, it was one of the coolest choices I’ve made this far at Mac. At the end of the semester, my friends and I had a barbeque in the park together to say “goodbye” to each other. The friends I made this year at Mac ended up feeling more like family, so celebrating the end of the school year together just felt right. While doing all that I mentioned before, I ended the semester with the best grades I’ve had since middle school.
Freshman year taught me how important it is to #getinvolved on campus. Being involved in so many activities taught me things no class ever has and I’ve been able to develop useful skills outside of the classroom. Getting involved also brought friends, joy, new opportunities and an amazing freshman year experience that was better than I ever imagined it could be. I highly recommend trying new things when starting college. Have the courage to leave your comfort zone, you never know who or what is out there for you that you might just love.
