Diversity Players' Welcome

hi I'm Julie and I'm from Detroit on behalf of the Dean of Students office and as the creator and director of diversity players an educational theatre group here at Iowa State University we want to welcome you to our campus today the diversity players would like to talk to you about four themes that we feel are important to your success as a college student the first theme is about involvement and why becoming involved in campus activities really can be a critical component to your success here the second theme we like to highlight has to do with responsibility the good news is you're on your own now the bad news is you're going to be held accountable for your actions we want you to think about that before you arrive on campus we also want you to think about respecting diversity respect is going to be very important at Iowa State because we draw scholars and students and faculty from really all around the world we want you to be able to join our team and feel comfortable here and think about what respecting diversity would mean not only in terms of enriching your college experience but your life experience as well finally we want you to be aware of what resources are available to you here after you arrive on campus the Dean of Students office will be your best resource for connecting to campus activities and also as a place to turn whenever you have questions or concerns going away to college is a lot of fun it's also a lot of hard work so I hope you're prepared to study it's about chasing your dreams and meeting new friends and pursuing academic excellence as a diversity player I want to welcome you not only to Iowa State but to also have you start thinking about how you're going to join this new community because going away to college is also about joining a community that may be very different from the one that you're living in today we want to orient you to that today and also wish you well on your journey hi I'm Kimberly and I'm from Fort Dodge Iowa and I'm here to talk to you about initiative and getting involved on the Iowa State campus when I first came here as a freshman I was completely overwhelmed by all the opportunities that I saw around me I was living in the dorms with mostly other freshmen lived on the dorm floor as well and we were all so scared and nervous about this new big world that surrounded us known as Iowa State and how we were going to fit into that world because we saw all the upperclassmen and they seemed to fit in so well and why were we experiencing these feelings but at what we realize is that college isn't high school and it's really a fresh start for you to get involved in ways that you never thought possible and my friends that lived on the dorm floor started doing that as well everybody found new and interesting ways that they could get involved that they never imagined would be available to them I'm a theater major and I started out wanting to do theater I'd done it in high school but I was really afraid about how college theater would be different than high school theater and how I would fit into that so I heard about an audition that I read in the paper and so I went to the theater to audition for the show and I walked in the building and I sat in the back of the house and I've watched people on stage and I as soon as I saw those people on stage I ran out the building and left and ran all the way home back to the dorm floor to all the friends and was absolutely terrified and what had just happened I don't know why I was just so overwhelmed by seeing people older than me and they looked so comfortable and I felt so afraid so I had it got a pep talk for my friends I headed back to the theater when I saw that they were having another audition and he took everything that I could and got up on that stage and auditioned and ended up getting cast in my first show and I've done numerous shows since then and after that making that first step of getting involved I've been able to get involved in so many other ways on campus be it theater organizations hosting a TV show at Iowa State political organizations campus-wide organizations all sorts of different opportunities that I've had available to me and I think what's important about that is that you realize that it's gonna be nervous for everybody that gets here everybody is going to be afraid about how they'll fit in and what's important is that you make that first step for yourself as to what you want to do because there's so many opportunities that are overwhelming here you need to decide what you want to do and just go for it because college just isn't about classes it's about what you do in your free time that establishes you as an individual it's about the friends that you will make through those opportunities friends that will last you a lifetime the friends that I have now are the ones that I've made through those opportunities that I've taken so I want to welcome you to Iowa State and I hope that you take every opportunity that is available to you hi I'm John and I'm from Clinton Iowa I'd like to talk to you about responsibility now another thing I'm gonna say is gonna be new or earth-shattering or stuff you haven't heard before but it's stuff that I found to be important in my life so I'd like to share with you first it's important to make decisions before you get into situations for example if you're gonna go to a party it's best to decide if you want to drink and how long do you want to stay before you get there that way when you get to the party you don't have to worry about being pressured into doing something you don't want to do next it's always best to follow your gut instinct normally what you feel is the right thing to do is the best way to go and finally now that now that you're at Iowa State you're gonna have a lot more freedom but with that freedom comes responsibility so for every action you do there's gonna be a consequence whether it be in class at a party in the dorms wherever well like I said nothing I said is new or earth-shattering but a stuff that is held true in my life and I think will hold true in yours as well welcome to Iowa State hi I'm Nick I'm from Wisconsin when I first came to Iowa State University I wasn't quite sure what to expect being an out-of-state students and a gay man I had it this fear that I would be rejected that everyone here was closed-minded yet I found out that I was wrong especially when I moved into the residence halls every person I met including my roommate were very respectful of me and my differences they realized that we were all different and each person need to be respected for it whether it's race ethnicity gender political beliefs religious beliefs disability age we're all respected here at Iowa State campus and that's what makes studying here at Iowa State very unique is this respect that we have going on I know that I've really enjoyed studying here at Iowa State this respect that we have going on has helped me immensely I hope you enjoy it too welcome to Iowa State hello I'm Duffy and I'm from Ames and I am a student at Iowa State University I have a disability and I am a non-traditional student as you can see I could be a grandmother as a student with a disability and a non-traditional student I was afraid that I wouldn't belong but I found that when I used the correct support mechanisms I could belong just as well as any other student I also found that I had strengths because I have a disability I am used to asking for accommodations for self advocating so I didn't find it a problem to ask questions in class also I've had a job and a family I'm used to planning my time and that is a real strength I hope that perhaps you can use some of these strengths and that you will find family and community at Iowa State just as I have hi I'm Linda and I'm from Connecticut and just like you a couple of years ago I was sitting in those same seats wondering what am I gonna do I had just arrived on campus and I was petrified because this came with a larger than my home town but you know what I went to one of my resident sisters you know what they told me go to the Dean of Students office someone over to the Student Services Building and guess what I found a whole bunch of resources I found out that they were the people who were in charge of Student Activities and I was a person who was very involved in high school I was involved in many different groups and I couldn't imagine not being involved on campus so they directed me over to the Student Activities Office where I found all types of groups Greek life goose for underrepresented people then I also was very involved women's issues so they directed me over on the other side of campus to the Women's Center I also met health nut love to work out and I didn't realize that the recreation center was also a part of the Dean of Students office I also found that there were officers there that would give me tutors if I need them there were officers there that will give me peer mentors if I just needed someone on my own level to talk to there were so many resources at first I was overwhelmed but I enjoyed the office so much I got to meet great people and I now am a peer mentor for the student support services office which is in the Dean of Students office so I say to you you're sitting there right now you're wondering I'm never gonna survive on this campus but that's not the case to make one stop in the Student Services Building and the student and the Dean of Students office and you'll find the resources on top of resources and people that are willing to help you just take that first step and your stay here at Iowa State would be great I wish you all the luck and I know you'll do great