Nia Lewis (’25) is a Communication major studying at the University of Aberdeen for Fall 2024.
Before coming to Aberdeen, I knew that I would have to put in a bit more effort to get involved and make friends on campus since I am naturally a bit introverted. To my surprise, making friends was way easier than I thought it would be!
The University of Aberdeen offers over 170 clubs and student-led organizations for students to join. For my first term, I decided to focus on joining the tennis team. I used to play competitively when I was younger, but I stopped playing when I came to Drexel. Hoping to build my skills and technique back up while making new friends, I signed up for the team which ended up being a great decision. Aside from playing matches and getting to travel across Scotland for away games, the team also hosts weekly socials for everyone to get to know each other better which has helped me with making friends. Although I am only on the tennis team for now, I also plan to join the dance, archery and ice skating societies so that I can try a few more new things before I leave in May.
Outside of joining school organizations, it is also helpful to attend all of the new student orientation sessions when you first arrive. I met most of the friends that I consistently hang out with during welcome week. Don’t be afraid to start conversations with people and attend all of the welcome week socials you can.
It is also helpful to form good relationships with your roommates! My dorm structure is similar to a suite style dorm. There are five rooms (everyone has their own room), a shared kitchen space, two bathrooms and one shower room. Luckily, I was assigned four other roommates who are very easy to get along with, because I heard horror stories from some of my friends who have studied abroad. Don’t let other people’s experiences determine yours. My roommates are from Spain, Australia, Chile and Great Britain, so it is cool to learn about their customs and talk about our lives back home. We’ve been able to travel and go out together on multiple occasions, and they’ve also saved me when I locked myself out more times than I like to admit, so I suggest befriending your roommates as soon as you get settled in.
While everyone has different experiences and struggles with forming friendships abroad, participating in school events and joining school organizations has definitely helped me to break away from some of my more introverted tendencies.
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