There were so many options! Standing on the ground floor of Harper Memorial Library, a first-year student slowly figuring out his way around campus, I was looking over one of about a dozen bulletin boards in the building. College is strange in that you spend so much less time in class than you do in high school—so what do you do with this newfound freedom? I had no clue. I didn’t know the right approach, the right attitude, but I figured that looking over the bulletin boards for new things to try couldn’t hurt. Each one was plastered so completely with flyers, posters, and other event announcements that you couldn’t see an inch of the cork beneath. I remember waiting for class, checking out the postings for anything that might catch my eye. There were theater productions, career info sessions, concerts, and more. No shortage of interesting events to attend, for sure, but one in particular grabbed my attention.
A small piece of paper pinned in the corner of the corkboard announced that our Divinity School would be hosting Cornel West in an upcoming speaker event. I knew I had to go. I had seen Dr. West on TV when I was in high school, and it left a lasting impact on my own worldview and political beliefs. His writings on race, politics, religion, and moral leadership are immeasurably powerful, and he brilliantly balances the roles of leading academic and political advocate. And here he was, coming to my campus! Out of all the possible options, that little flyer has caught my eye. So, the next evening, I went to see Dr. West speak.
I got to Rockefeller Chapel, where the event was scheduled to take place, expecting to be lost in a crowd. Rockefeller Chapel is a pretty huge place, hard to miss on campus: imposing Gothic architecture and a bell tower that regularly belts out everything from classical music to the Lord of the Rings score to the background music from Kahoot. (The bells in that tower are actually one of the largest musical instruments in the entire world, weighing in at a ridiculous 100 tons.) So you can imagine my surprise when I saw that this massive space had been converted to host a small event. Only the first few rows of the chapel were occupied, filled almost entirely with Divinity School graduate students. I was one of only a few undergraduates there!
I soon realized (and would have done so sooner if I’d bothered to read the flyer closely) that the event was, in fact a panel, in which four graduating Div School students would be presenting their theses on Dr. West’s work. Each spoke in turn, with Dr. West listening intently. When they had each finished, he stood up, thanked them each individually, and then walked up to the podium. He then gave one of the most incredible speeches I have ever heard. It seemed completely unrehearsed, and incredibly genuine, but also brilliantly formulated. To this day, I have never been more amazed and engaged by a speaker, anywhere, ever. And to cap it all off, I was able to personally speak with and thank Dr. West at the end. It was quite possibly the most memorable event I went to the whole year. Sure, there were concerts and movie screenings and countless other amazingly fun nights, but none that left nearly as lasting an impression as seeing Cornel West speak.
There are so many things to do in college. One of the defining experiences of a first-year student is the difficult process of figuring out how to spend your time. Classes, clubs, jobs, late nights with friends, trips to the city; there are so many options available that it can feel a little overwhelming! Learning how to prioritize things and budget your time is a big part of your first year. I went to UChicago excited about improv shows and exploring the city, not about random academic speaker events hosted by graduate students. I had no idea that anything like that could be so meaningful. There is no shortage of ways to have fun in college, and there is no single right way to approach your time as an undergraduate. But if you are open to new experiences, you may find yourself surprised and intrigued by things that you never expected to enjoy. So go off the beaten path, and check out the events advertised on tiny flyers! You never know where they will take you.