Connecting to the Alma College Community
Transfer students have a great deal to offer the Alma College Community: a different way of looking at college, different experiences and different ways of doing even the simplest procedures. There is one thing all transfer students share – the need to connect with faculty, staff and peers.
Here are some ideas to help you connect to your new community!
Meet your professors. Try to make a special effort to talk to each of your professors. Meeting with them during office hours can help you see them as individuals (and the reverse is also true!). Your professors and your advisor can help you connect with other students in the same academic discipline.
Join a club. The Student Life Office maintains a list of over one hundred clubs and other organizations that offer the chance for new friends with similar interests. There really is something for everyone.
Participate in the performing arts. Join one of the choirs, the bands, or the theater group and share your talents.
Play intramural sports.There is a rich schedule of intramural sports taking place each term. Start your quest at the Alan J. Stone Recreational Center for a list of what’s going on.
Join (or start) a study group. A study group is a great way to start a deeper connection with others in your academic area. Alma students do a great deal of collaborative learning. They often use study groups to help them explain and practice applying class concepts well before their exam dates.
Become a disc jockey. Spinning tunes your thing? Stop by the radio station and check out the specialty programs offered each term.
Meet a staff member.They are the people who staff the offices, work in the buildings and hold the college together for all matters outside the classroom. There are a lot of interesting folks who will lend a sympathetic ear, and are just interesting to know. Don’t be shy, just strike up a conversation.
Find other transfer students. There’s nothing quite like a sympathetic ear when you become lonely or frustrated. Contact Tore Skorgeth (skorgeth@alma.edu) to find out the names of other transfer students if you haven’t already met them. Often there are transfer students from previous terms who have volunteered to be peer advisors for new students.
And more. Got strategy that helped you connect? Contact Dr. Kay Grimnes (grimnes@alma.edu) and your advice may appear on this website to help the next generation of transfer students!
