Today we feature junior communication studies major and journalism minor Christian A. Browne, who commutes to Rowan from Sicklerville, NJ (Camden County) and is originally from Philadelphia. Christian transferred to Rowan from Camden County College.
Making friends, in general, can be hard at times. Especially as a commuter, you don’t have the benefits of being forced into getting to know a random roommate. When I first came to Rowan as a transfer student, I was worried about not finding those people who I could connect with. However, after coming to campus and being here for a year now, I feel like I have made some genuine connections through these different ways.
Joining a club
At Rowan, there’s a lot of different clubs and organizations that you can be a part of. They literally have anything that you could possibly think of. For me, I wrote for my community college newspaper and wanted to continue writing stories. During my time with The Whit, I made a lot of friends with people on campus. With being able to go to different places to cover events, you will interact with so many different people that you’ll definitely meet some new friends like me along the way.
Old high school/community college classmates
I didn’t go that far away for college. I commute only 20 minutes from home. A lot of my former classmates both from high school and community college go to Rowan themselves. So whenever I would walk to class or study in the bookstore, I would always talk to someone who I knew from the past. For me, I ended up developing a lot of friendships with people who I talked to in the past or people who slipped by. While many people like myself may want to avoid those high school people, it’s worth pointing out that everyone changes once that reaches college. Everyone who you knew is in a different stage of their lives. You never know the connections that you make with someone. Often I was pleasantly surprised!
Classmates
A lot of the times when I took my journalism, psychology, and communication studies classes, I saw the same people over and over again. After a while, you eventually exchange numbers with people and help each other in classes and just hangout. There were times when I went to get togethers or game nights with people from different classes. Also for me, I remember going to D.C. as a part of a trip to my photojournalism class. It was fun to be able to have some fun with people who I would interact with every day.
Going to different events on campus
One of my closest friends I met while going to a transfer student meetup on campus. There are a lot of events like Rowan After Hours, Hollybash, football games and other events. There are always fun events or shows that you can go to. Whether you are into comedy, musicals, live music or etc, there is something for everyone! For me, I met a lot of new people and friends from going to these different events and having some fun meeting new people.
Exploring your surroundings
Lastly, you just have to get out there and explore the college. There is so much going on at Rowan every day that it’s easy to get involved with something. I remember one night just walking on Rowan Boulevard and ended up going to this Indie concert run by 4333 Collective. There was another time that I went out to take photos with a friend and ended up hanging out with a couple of photographers who were doing the same thing. And this one time, I went to a skatepark and ended up chilling with a couple of skaters after. You never know what you see or who you will be on campus. But for me, that’s the fun of life. Things happen for a reason and I’m grateful for the friendships that I have!
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