Photo Courtesy of Camel Companions.
The transition to college is often difficult for students, and the pandemic has made it even harder. Seeing first-year students struggling to form friendships while living with Covid-19 restrictions is what inspired Emily Suher ‘21 and Lydia Chase ‘21 to form a new group, Camel Companions. When I asked about the driving force behind its creation, Lydia explained: “We were thinking of the types of connections that were fostered during our first year, and a lot of those came from quick, casual interactions with people—such as in a class, in a club, or having someone on your floor—things that COVID makes really difficult. So, our thought process was, how can we create these interactions, and create a space on campus where people feel that level of comfort in speaking and meeting new people?” Their solution was Camel Companions, a new initiative in which one or two upperclassmen meet with four first-year/transfer students for lunch. Participants can get lunch with their group as frequently as they would like. Emily and Lydia hope this group will create a space that, besides giving people a fun lunch plan, will create an environment where students meet other students in different class years, dorms, or majors. The goal is that students will leave lunch having met a friend, or even just a new friendly face to greet around campus—both of these relationships are important, and part of making connections on campus.
I also had the chance to speak with Owen Tacy ‘24, a first-year who is participating in Camel Companions. He learned about the program from a “This Weekend At Conn” email. Like many first-years, he had been having some trouble meeting people due to COVID restrictions and online classes. The opportunity to meet more people immediately caught his attention, and he signed up right away. He has had lunch with a Camel Companions group twice so far, and is planning on continuing to do so. He was enthusiastic about his experience, saying: “It was really fun! Both times [the upperclassmen] facilitated conversation really well, they were outgoing. Even when some of them were clearly more introverted, they still made a visible effort to try to connect with us… it was just great to be able to have that kind of social interaction that I personally was sorely missing.” Owen hopes that more first-year students will join Camel Companions, and that groups will start meeting more frequently. He recommended that the group consider more outreach initiatives, in order to engage with introverted students or those nervous about signing up.
“To any first years who are thinking about signing up but feeling hesitant”, Emily said, “we really feel for you, because we understand that this is kind of a vulnerable position to be in, and certainly you wouldn’t normally be in this position,” but “you can only get good things out of [joining Camel Companions].” Lydia added, “It’s a lot less commitment or pressure than it may seem like–I know it’s a lot to sign up for something new with people that you don’t know in it… you might think ‘Oh I’m not the right type of person for this, I don’t know what type of person is signing up’, but Camel Companions doesn’t have one type of person.” This program is for everyone, and signups are open. The easiest way for first-years and transfer students to sign up for Camel Companions is to go to their Instagram page, @camelcompanions, and click the link in their bio. This opens a Google Form that serves as both a signup sheet and a way to determine student availability. Lunches last from 12 to 1 PM, and the upperclassman participants will reach out to first-years in order to determine when and where to meet.
The organizers had just experienced their first lunch meeting with their Camel Companions before the interview, and were excited about meeting new people, even as seniors. They hope that more people will continue to sign up, and that the program can continue even after COVID restrictions are lifted. They really emphasize the importance of forming good relationships, and are hopeful that such connections will be made through this program. “To have one person make a friend,” Lydia said, “that would make the whole thing worth it.”•
