Recently, I’ve heard people complaining about different groups of people on campus not being reachable. I realized my experience has been quite different. I am the student who emails admin invitations to the dining hall and introduces herself to as many dining hall staff as she can. Here are some ideas so that you can start your own conversations.

To Meet Dining Hall and Facilities Staff

• Say hi to them in the hallways and introduce yourself! 
• When they help you out on campus, thank them and go from there!

To Meet Students

• Sit with them in the dining hall. Really just sit down if there is an empty seat next to them and introduce yourself. Oliners like to talk!
• Email them! Even if it is a stranger.
• Email our CORe representatives! There are elected members who run events, meet with admin, and much more. Feel free to reach out to Kenneth Xiong… he’s happy to talk CORe or about parking spots in Boston…
• Reach out to a fellow student who you want to get to know better! You know you have that person; send them a random text or email about meeting up!

To Meet the President’s Cabinet (if you are wondering who they are, try a google search)

• Email them! 
• Sit down with them in the dining hall. Al Sacco and various members of the cabinet have lunch in the dining hall on Thursdays from 12-1. They are there to meet everyone!
• Show up to their office. If the door is open, go in and say hi!

To Meet Staff and Faculty

• Email them! Most of them have informational pages on the Olin website. See what they do and reach out about it.
• Sit with them in the dining hall, schedule a meeting with them, or go to events that they advertise!
• Ask them about their research or what they studied in college!

To Meet Babson Police

• Say hi to the officers when they do their rounds through campus. They like to hear about our projects!

To Meet President Barabino and the Board of Trustees

• Send an email to gbarabino@olin.edu or boardoftrustees@olin.edu
• Message the board member on Linkedin

These might all feel awkward at first and that’s okay. To help, I have added a few tips below:

• People want to talk with other people! That means you!

• Some conversation starts: Favorite hobby? Favorite sports team? If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? 
• To send an email: Start with “Hi my name is ___!” and maybe follow that up with something like “I do XYZ at Olin. I would like to learn about XYZ things you do. Could we find a time to meet this week?” 
• My favorite thing to do when I meet up with someone: Get some ice cream! Suggestions of places: Trim for soft serve, Olin dining hall when we have it, Truleys in Wellesley.

I challenge you to do one of these things listed above and meet someone new this month! I am looking forward to meeting more of you!