Education: Social Activities for the Non-Traditional College Student

Feeling alone on campus? For the adult student campus social life can be a challenging task. Many adults are returning to college or beginning college for the first time. As an adult your priorities are quite different from the traditional college aged student. Working a full or part time job while taking care of a family can be a time management nightmare in comparison to all night frat parties. The non-traditional student's time constraints may limit their participation in on-campus social activities. However, non-traditional students need campus social interaction to feel accepted and a part of the college's non-academic environment. Though organizing a campus dance or volunteering for the homecoming events committee may be too much of a time commitment for an adult time-line, organizing non-traditional student groups could be an ideal campus support system for you and other adult students. The question is how do you get started? Where do you go for assistance and how do you connect with other non-traditional students? Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Campus Student Life Office: Stop by your Student Life Office. Generally they are the folks who plan, organize and fund student activities, programs and projects. Their budget is usually funded by a Student Activities Fee that is part of your tuition. This fee is allocated to the individual campus Student Life Offices with the university. Proposals are often accepted at the start of each semester.

Student Activities Committee: The Student Activities Committee representatives work hand-in-hand with the Campus Student Life Office. They can assist you in filling out Student Program Funding Request forms and recommend them to the Student Life Office for approval. Over the course of my career I have approved dozens of adult social groups my favorite being, A.S.K. Adult Student Knitters, a group of non-traditional female students requested funding to form a weekly knitting circle. And I might add eventually the group was not limited to women but attracted numerous traditional and non-traditional males as well. They used part of their student organization funding to make and sell tee-shirts which read, "A.S.K. a Knitwit." Part of socializing involves being creative!

Campus Bulletin Boards: Every campus had some sort of Student Commons posting area. Make up flyers seeking other non-traditional students to meet for coffee/lunch breaks, parenting groups, recreation, study group assistance, etc. You'll be surprised how many individuals you will attract who are also seeking campus social support.

Social Sharing Evening: Most non-traditional students have experience beyond the traditional students in business, travel, careers, parenting, etc. Organizing a Social Sharing Evening event is an excellent way for you to share your wealth of life experience with younger college students. It also offers an opportunity for your younger classmates to share their state-of-the-art technology with you.

On Campus Student Advisors: If you are still having problems and/or concerns about fitting into your new roll as a college student or coping with campus life, schedule an appointment with your Student Advising Office. Their experience and knowledge in regards to your situation is priceless and worth the trip. They may already have connections to existing non-traditional students looking to socialize with other non-traditional students, adult study groups, campus organizations and resource information you will find exceptionally helpful.

Keep in mind going to college at any age is a huge step. Take the time to seek out and enjoy all the non-academic social activities your campus has to offer.

Source(s)
Deb Martin-Webster
Former Director of Student Life and Services for Temple University-Tyler School of Art