One of my favorite parts of exploring Wichita State University during my college search was all of the ways you could get involved. After being involved throughout high school, discovering there were more than 200 different organizations at Wichita State permitted a whole new world of opportunities for me to explore. When it came down to it, I ultimately chose three organizations that helped me to touch multiple levels of who I am as a student and person. This allowed me to meet people from all different nooks and corners of campus.

The first organization I joined focused on campus wide involvement: the Student Ambassador Society (SAS), a volunteer organization that works with the Office of Admissions to help recruit prospective students on and off campus for Wichita State University. Not only does the Student Ambassador Society allow me to share my experiences at Wichita State, but it surrounds me with people of all different ages, majors, and hometowns. Yet, throughout different events and meetings I spend my time at, I have been able to find similarities amongst all the members and create close friendships despite how different our time looks on campus.

The second organization I joined was the Fairmount College Student Advisory Council (FCSAC): a board of current students who help provide opinions and ideas to the Dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). While this organization includes Shockers of many different majors and ages, it is more focused on my academic college within the university. By hosting events for students within LAS, I get to have one-on-one conversations about student wants and needs. Plus, I also get to hear about each student's academic and life goals. These conversations allow me to create connections with others and feel connected through common grounds.

Lastly, I joined the Forensic Science Society: an organization comprised entirely of Forensic Science majors where we can discuss and explore classes, internships, job opportunities and more. This organization is much more focused on what I want to do for my future career and connects me with peers who have the same interests. While other areas of my involvement focus on how different our members are, this one zeros in on how much each of us has in common. We share many of the same classes, thus making it no problem to find a familiar faces and easily create study groups with class cohorts. Not only am I able to share a professional setting with members, but I can also discuss what drives our passions and what led us to choose our major in the first place.

All the individual connections that these organizations make with faculty, staff and students continue to help me grow my circle of friends, peers and outlets. Finding organizations like these that make you feel connected to your values is a fantastic way to not only put yourself out there, but also make friends in so many different areas. Whether you are the loudest voice in the room or the quietest, I will always encourage individuals to find a club, organization or group that they feel they comfortable and true to who they are! ​