By Madigan Marchisani,
This year at UNI, we’ve upped our efforts to reach and share with freshman specifically by hosting a weekly Freshman Group gathering. Each week, Freshman Group exists to build class identity and relationships among the students as they get to know one another. We do this by inviting first-year students to various social events and encouraging them to also invite their friends. We just recently hosted a Freshman Christmas party where students came to celebrate together and hang out one last time before their break. We dressed up in ugly sweaters, ate a lot of good food, reminisced on the past semester, and had a goofy lip sync competition. The routines were creative, hilarious, unique, impressive, and a little weird. Lots of laughs were had that night at our very first freshman Christmas party.
Social events like this have bonded freshman consistently throughout this whole semester. We have seen students go from strangers to acquaintances, to friends, to best friends faster than we even expected. Students have found themselves in a huge friend group with people they would have never thought they would be friends with. We’ve seen that freshman are not just hanging out with each other on Sunday nights during Freshman group, but all throughout the week. We loved watching these relationships form and grow. These gatherings have not only sparked friendships but drawn others in as well. Our consistent 40 freshmen have a desire to invite their friends into the community they have found themselves loving so much. We are so encouraged to see freshman engaging with their peers on their floors, in their classes, and at their workplaces simply because they want them to know and experience the joy they have found in Jesus. We are so excited for next semester as we begin to equip these freshmen for discipleship and leadership in the future!
