finding your community in college.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Hey, Nadia.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hello.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Hello. So now you're in Boston, and I'm back in the Bay Area, or still here in the Bay Area. And it's your first week of your second year of college,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Northeastern. How are you doing?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
I'm good. I feel like I'm getting back in my school groove. I was here pretty recently, so I feel like nothing has really changed going back to normal. It's just really extremely hot outside, but I have AC, so it's okay.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
You're so lucky that you have air conditioning.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah, really, really lucky. It is like 99% humidity outside. in 90 degrees so really not the most comfortable situation if you don't have a cool room.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
That's terrible, actually. That sounds terrible to me. But does that mean that most of you guys are staying indoors most of the day?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
For the most part yeah, unless you want to go like actually roast outside a lot of my friends will take Will come to our room since we have the AC
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Does every room in your building have air conditioning?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
In my building, yeah, but not all the dorms. So not all the buildings, but in my building they do.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Oh my gosh, you are so lucky. So
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
you were saying that you feel like things are back to normal because you're back in your dorms. And I'm curious, now that it's your second year of school, are you feeling like school is home? And when you come home to us, to the family, that's like a
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
trip away?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Um, I feel like I'm in that transition. It doesn't quite feel like that yet, but I definitely think that it will. I just, I think it's easier to be here than home for like, I don't know, like for having a schedule kind of purpose. Because when I'm home, I'm not, I'm not really doing anything. And it's kind of up to me to like decide my day, but when I'm at school, like I have class, I have this, I have... I'm going to the gym, I'm eating dinner, I have like a meeting. So in that way it feels like a little bit easier to manage but that doesn't mean I have a way busier schedule.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm. So as far as your schedule, you're mostly going to school. Are you planning on working this semester?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
I had a job last semester and over the summer when I was here over the summer and I'm I was considering it. I feel like I may not go back. I worked at a grocery store which is like a pretty easy job. It's not very like intense and I'm kind of doing my own thing the whole time. I'm not really talking to anybody else except for customers. But I do feel like an urge to kind of make a person for myself at Northeastern itself. And if I have a job, that means that I probably won't have the time to like go to certain club meetings or go to the gym with my friends and meet new people at the gym or like go to an event that has been hosted on campus. So, I'm still deciding, but we'll
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Yeah,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
see.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
make money versus make kind of like memories or find a community, a larger community or be part of the larger community at Northeastern. Yeah,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right,
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
so go ahead.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
and I feel like... Well, I was just going to say, like, I obviously need the money, but I will be going on co-op next semester. So in that sense, if I just save my money now, like if I don't necessarily need to be spending a lot of money, it's just good to have like the extra stuff. But I don't know. I'll see.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I guess for our listeners, in case they don't know what co-op means, why don't you describe what it is?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
So I go to Northeastern and a big part of Northeastern is this co-op program where most students will do two in their four or five years in college. And it's basically like a six-month internship. And most people do it at a company or a hospital or whatever it has to do with your major, but it'll be in Boston, but you can't do it abroad or. in a different state, you just have to kind of go against, I think, I haven't, well, I haven't actually started my co-op class yet, but I think there's like a website, I don't know, some sort of thing that helps you put together a resume and your applications and apply to all these different places. But if you're going to another state or you want to go abroad, that's. Something you to do on your own and won't necessarily be through Northeastern But yeah, I haven't gone to my first co-op class yet Which will like teach
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
preparing.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
me about the process so I can probably talk about it at a later date
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Yeah, I got actually like chills as you listened or as you said it, I got not chills. I didn't get chills. I got like butterflies in my stomach as you were talking about it. I'm super excited
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
to do all of those things. I think because I know that throughout high school you didn't have a lot of work experience because you spent 20 hours a week doing gymnastics and
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I'm excited that experience while you're kind of like a little bit sheltered as a student, you know, and
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
so that when you come out of school you're going to have like resume, things to put on your resume and hopefully those experiences
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right. Exactly.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
will help you figure out what you want to do after college. I'm really,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hmm
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
actually as we were talking about it, even more excited about it than I was like, you know, when you were starting school so that's really cool.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right. Yeah, it'll help me like either decide what I want to do or what I know I don't want to do, which is kind of helpful because I'm kind of in this stage of I really don't know. So we'll see.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Right. Okay, so as far as finding yourself as a Northeastern student,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I'm thinking that this semester is different for you compared to last semester because your first year of college was going directly to Greece instead of the Northeastern Boston campus. And so... going abroad as an 18-year-old is just a task in itself. And so that took up a lot of time. And also wanting to find community and a home for yourself in Greece was not really necessary because you knew you were only going to be there for three or four months. So
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right, right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
now that you're settling into Boston, what kinds of things are you doing? to find community at Boston.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Well, what I really think like the transition made, well, starting from Greece, like you said, it was hard. It wasn't really like we were gonna make ourselves like find a community in Greece because we were only there for three months. It was more like try to get comfortable and take advantage of like the opportunities that you have before like, it gets harder to do that. And then I feel like last semester, the spring semester of last year, I definitely, there were a lot of times in Greece where I didn't feel really comfortable or I felt like a combination of like homesick and just like being in a new country. So I think me and probably a lot of my friends too, like took last semester to kind of like feel settled and comfortable and like fine, like really spend time with the friends that we made in Greece. And we try. I personally tried to join clubs and stuff during that semester, but I feel like I tried for those few months just to get used to being a college student in the United States, in the school that I'm going to be at for the next four years or five years. So joining clubs and going to club meetings almost felt like... like an extra thing that I didn't want to do. So it would kind of take like, wouldn't be the biggest priority in the sense that I would like want to go to dinner with my friends at the dining hall or go to the gym in place of going to that club meeting. Cause it kind of felt like I'd be missing out on something if I was going to that club. But I think coming to campus this semester, definitely have a new perspective just because like I feel more comfortable on campus and my friends have like friend group and like that's kind of settled down and I am a lot more interested, me and my friends, are a lot more interested in getting really into all the clubs that we're interested in. And so before school started, school started on Wednesday, and today's Friday, so I've only had three days of school. But before that, on Tuesday, there was a club fair, and with like literally every single, I'm assuming almost every club on campus. So there was a lot of different tables to go to, there was a lot of people, it was very crowded. And although it was... I guess mostly for the freshmen. I took the time to go with my friends just to kind of like reintroduce myself to the clubs that are on campus and also to see like if there were clubs that I missed and Because we did have a club fair like that last semester
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
in January
Nadia Herrera-Set:
But it was indoors
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
when you moved into Boston in January.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
What'd you say?
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
When you moved into Boston in January, there was a club fair for people settling in
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah,
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
January.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
there was a club fair. Yeah, it was just, it was indoors, it was really cold. So, and this one was outdoors, so, and we were spread out all through campus. So, if you can imagine, like all these different clubs crammed into like, I mean, a big building, but like, it was just really crowded and very overwhelming. So, it wasn't necessarily like... I guess you wouldn't have found all the clubs you wanted to go to because it was a very overwhelming experience. But this time it was overwhelming, but because it was hot and there was still a lot of people, but I was able to go to a whole different bunch of tables. It was just interesting to see the different groups of people on campus. Talked to a lot of people that are really passionate about their club and what they do, so that was really fun. And I think that I haven't gone to like a first club meeting yet, but it should be fun.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I seem to remember in college, which was so many years ago, that sometimes when you would approach a club table, it was really clear that the people that were all there together telling you about their club were friends with each other. And if you're lucky enough, you go to a club table with one of your friends, so you feel kind of safe and confident. But you know
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right,
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
you're walking
Nadia Herrera-Set:
right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
into somebody else's home or somebody else's friend group. And you're almost saying, hi, tell me about your club. And can I be friends with you? And it's kind of this awkward moment where you know that they're checking out to see if you would be someone that they'd be excited to welcome into their club. And
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
you're doing the same thing, looking
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hooray.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
how they interact with each other. Most like, however you judge a group of people to determine whether or not you would want to hang out with them more, you might be looking at how they talk, what kind of music's playing in the background, what kind of
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
like clothes they're wearing, right? And so like, do you look like them?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
You know, you like whether, yeah, do you look like them by clothing or by just like, you know, your appearance?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
And so it's not
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
just about like the club and what they do, but also about the people that are representing the club.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm. Yeah, what do I think
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
That's
Nadia Herrera-Set:
is...
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
what I remember. Is that a your experience too?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah, I think it's... I think it's definitely the same way now. I think like it's hard because you almost feel like you're going up to the table not to like judge them, but like... I mean making friends in general is hard because you... You're just analyzing every part of that person just to see if you would get... along with them and like not in like a bad way it's just you're gonna look at every part of like at this club where you're gonna look at every part of their table the way that their posters like design the way that they're like decided to approach you um the tone of their voice it's like it's a lot and i think a lot of people felt left the club fair feeling like one like there's a lot of new clubs for me to join but also a little bit of stress and a little bit of like that was really intimidating and I don't know if I'm enjoying but like I ended up talking to one like a pre-med fraternity and also sororities and already like approaching the table like hesitant, very hesitant. It was definitely like very intimidating talking to people that are obviously very passionate about their sorority or their frat. So I think, yeah, I feel like that experience is a universal experience on college
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Yeah,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
campuses.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
it's almost like you're looking at them going, oh my gosh, you're so passionate about this. Is that going to be me? Like, can I be this passionate about what you're
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
talking about? Do I want to be that person? Yeah.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
But I guess you got to understand that that's their job at the table is to give you the positive stuff
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
and show their enthusiasm. Because it would be weird to say, I love this club, but also here are some things that I don't like about it. You know, like you have no choice but to...
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
kind of be really enthusiastic about it when you're
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
working the table. So what is the timeline on that? Like, are you, now that there's been a club fair and like, how does that work? So there's a club fair, do you give them your email address? Do you follow them on Instagram? Like what
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Um...
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
process of like, now that you've seen the clubs, what happens next?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Uh, yeah, so a lot
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Thanks for
Nadia Herrera-Set:
of
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
watching!
Nadia Herrera-Set:
them had interest forms where you put your email down and your name. Um, Instagram handles were there too. It's just like harder to, it's easier to just write your name down and have them contact you rather than like you find them. But they definitely put their social media out. Um, I'm not sure if any clubs have had their first meeting yet, but I know that- on Monday, this next Monday, I have like three different, maybe four different meetings that are also around the same time of, no, it's three meetings on Monday, one meeting on Tuesday, of different clubs, of their first meeting, which is, I guess, maybe not necessarily getting right into things, which is introducing the club, so. Next week is definitely going to be like the start of it all. But most of the clubs meet once a week. They all have like a faculty advisor and they meet like in some, not, um, not usually like a classroom classroom, but there are like, I guess makeshift classrooms in some of the, um, dorm buildings. Uh, so they'll have. they'll be there or actually I don't know, maybe in the library. But yeah, so after next week, I'll probably be at a few different club meetings a week, but we'll see.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
do they provide some other incentive to get you there? We're going to provide food or are some people incentivized because they're like,
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Um...
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
oh, I really like that faculty advisor. I want to join the club because I want to do research with that faculty advisor. I imagine there's the club and what the club does, and then there's the
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
people. Do you want to be friends with them? Then there's the faculty advisor.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right. The faculty advisor isn't always like, um,
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Hands
Nadia Herrera-Set:
what's
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
on.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
the word? Like promoted. Like they don't usually, I don't know if they, I, that's not like the first thing you look at, but later on that could be a reason why you keep going to the club, um, as far as like food, sometimes they give you food. Um, but. I think they're kind of betting on the fact that someone's gonna go if they really want to go. And so it's kind of like weeding people out, you know what I mean? And sometimes
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
you like write your name on an interest form but you don't really want to go. So if... I think based... Like, I don't know. It's like a... un... just like unsaid like kind of weeding out process
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
happens over the course of a few days, but yeah
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
All right, I'm excited to find out what you end up joining. And this whole conversation about finding your place in Northeastern is kind of like I'm doing my own community finding.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I definitely have my community of friends and workmates and things like that. But recently, I've been thinking about the idea of throwing a retreat. And in the process of developing a retreat, one of my steps
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
is to participate in a retreat. And I find myself kind of like you at the club fair. Like I look at this website of the retreat and think to myself, wow, that they sound really into this exploration they're doing. I don't know if
Nadia Herrera-Set:
right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I'm gonna really fit in, you know? Like we are going to talk about our feelings and our goals and we're going to, you know, whatever it is that the retreat offers, whatever vibe it is, like, you know, get in touch with Earth, with nature or find community amongst other women or whatever it is. I feel like slightly hesitant.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Like, do I want to be a part of that?
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right,
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
It's like a little
Nadia Herrera-Set:
right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
bit scary because you feel like you're about to like dive into something that you're not sure
Nadia Herrera-Set:
you're
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
you're
Nadia Herrera-Set:
unsure
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
going to like.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
about. Yeah.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
So there's that. And I'm also like, I was inspired by a podcast that I listened to a couple days ago. There's a podcast. Oh my gosh, I can't remember the name now. But I listened to it because Lucy. your younger sister, is her podcast
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
is, she's going to have an interview on there. And I listened
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Uh huh.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
to the first episode and it was about a person that was interviewed was a professor, Dr. Allison Tintiangco-Cubales. And the person that was interviewing her was a student that she had 20 years ago.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hmm
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
one of the most significant impacts that the professor had on the student was to help that student feel like they were part of a greater community where her
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
interests and um and her just herself was welcome where she didn't necessarily feel that um prior or she was looking for that and so
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Think about how somebody 20 years later still remembers the impact somebody made on them. And that specific impact
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
was like belonging, right? And a feeling
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Hmm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
of belonging. And so I'm hoping for you to find that. And I feel like you're lucky in that for the past three years, maybe students didn't get that as much because of
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right, right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
the COVID restrictions. was a little bit harder to
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Mm.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
find opportunities to interact with students face to face.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Totally.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
So you could get tasks done.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
You could fulfill the goals of a club, but you didn't really get to be with other humans in person as much. So
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
I think it's really great that you get to do that.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
like clubs and retreats. I'm not really even sure how it all worked over COVID, but I, thinking about how I felt during that time, which is very different from being in college, but like I would, I feel like if I was a college student at that time, I would feel less inclined to go to club meetings and all this stuff, because one, meeting on Zoom isn't very personal. You're not really getting to know people. is easier to like multitask and not really pay attention. It's just not, it's not the same. So yeah, I wouldn't, I feel bad. I feel bad for the students that had to go through that. But I think that in the past, last year and this year, I think it's kind of making up for the, I guess those who were in college in 2020. So. Like I think they get to live what they didn't get to have before.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Mm-hmm. One last question, which is probably not the greatest place to end, so maybe it'll bring us to someplace else. I'm picturing you at this club fair, and you're so lucky that you were with your friends, like
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Right.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
friends that you made in Greece. And I'm wondering if there
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
were people walking around without a friend group looking kind of like a little bit lost and maybe uncomfortable and trying
Nadia Herrera-Set:
I
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
to
Nadia Herrera-Set:
mean...
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
find a place for themselves.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
There were definitely people like that there. I wasn't necessarily paying attention. You know, there was just a lot of people. There was always someone at a table on your front, like that you were looking at, like most tables were just full. So if you were by yourself, it's easy to like, it was easy to do it, like, I guess secretly. I don't know if that's the right word, but like. If you didn't want to really be noticed but still want to try to make friends It wasn't like very obvious that oh they're walking by themselves and they're trying to find friends because they haven't like quite made it and any yet and So I think I don't know. I guess maybe it was the way that it was outside there's I mean, there's a lot of kids like in Northeastern, so it's easy to blend into the crowd a little bit and also easy to introduce yourself to other people because go up to a table they're gonna be like oh hi my name is Balbala and you can be like next to someone that you don't know at that table, introduce yourself to them, that sort of thing but yeah there's definitely people that like try to find friends through that and I honestly probably feel like that's like the best way to do it is through the clubs and like the club meetings so.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
All right, well, have a good weekend. And I'm not sure if we're gonna talk about it next week, but at some point I'd love to hear about
Nadia Herrera-Set:
We'll
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
how it's
Nadia Herrera-Set:
see.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
going with the clubs. All right.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Yeah, I can give update and a co-op update once I finally go to my first class, but yeah.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
All right. If you've made it this far, thank you for listening. I hope that was interesting, helpful. I guess it was a good topic for maybe incoming freshmen to listen to at some point.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Totally.
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
All right.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
Okay, bye
Alyssa Herrera-Set:
Bye.
Nadia Herrera-Set:
guys.
