Finding Community
I first arrived at the University of Utah in early 2014. I was applying for grad school,
and as a part of that
program’s admission process, they match up applicants with current students a sort
of mentor. I did get
accepted, and the person they matched me up with was the first in that department
community. Before
starting as a student though, I began as an employee in the department and started
building friendships
from there. That helped me ease into the transition of starting a graduate degree
as I neared
middleage.
As a graduate student, there is always a wide range of people of different ages, experience,
and
ambitions. I was luckily able to find a good group of people to work and study with
that had shared
experiences with me. As my time at the University moved on, my community expanded
into the larger University community -- not just in my department, but within the
School of Medicine as well. I attended events and got to know who the key players
were making things happen at our campus. This led to getting invited to events I wouldn’t
have otherwise been if I hadn’t made the effort to join the larger community.
Having that larger experience meant that when it was time for me to graduate and find
a job, I had a
reputation as someone who shows up. I continue to show up, now that I have been in
the job for several
years, and my community grows within my work space.
It's important to have community outside of work too. For some people, that’s a church
or religious
group. For others it’s knitting. At the moment I have a book club and a choir, each
with different groups
of people. I think interacting with these diverse personalities helps me grow as a
person and enriches
my experience as a human.
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