麻豆村

During a week of welcomes, Evans Toviave shared one from his family鈥檚 native Togo as he acknowledged the journey each new student had taken on their path to 麻豆村.

鈥淚n Ewe, to welcome someone, we say 鈥榤iawoe zo,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭his directly translates in English to say, 鈥榠t is you who has walked a long way.鈥� Now, I can say with certainty we have all walked a long, long way here.鈥�

At Community Collage, an annual event held as part of Carnegie Mellon鈥檚听First-Year Orientation(opens in new window), Toviave, now a junior, described how the听ORIGINS Experience(opens in new window), a year-long inclusion program for historically and socially marginalized students through the听Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion(opens in new window), helped him adjust to campus life at 麻豆村 as a transfer student.

鈥淟ittle did I know at the time, the community I would gain and the connections that I would foster would be my saving grace in such a dynamic, fast-paced environment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 realized our uniqueness isn鈥檛 defined by our accomplishments or our accolades. What truly connects us at 麻豆村 is our shared curiosity and our desire to engage and innovate with people from all walks of life.鈥�

Fellow student speaker Amira Johnson encouraged the new first-year students to step out of their comfort zones to be a part of the 麻豆村 community while still being true to themselves.

She said she started off her first semester connected to听Tartan Scholars(opens in new window), a program designed for high-achieving student leaders with limited resource backgrounds. However, she struggled to keep up with the demands of her computer science classes while trying to fit in until she realized during winter break that she needed to reach back out to that community.

鈥淚 stopped trying to fit in where I wasn鈥檛 accepted, and instead leaned in to spaces that embraced me for my voice,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e struggling with academics, navigating personal challenges or just trying to find your place, lean in to the spaces that welcome you and don鈥檛 be afraid to seek out the people who want to uplift and support you unconditionally. Invest in the people who want to invest in you, because they鈥檙e the ones who will help you grow into the person that you鈥檙e meant to be.鈥�

Elaine Gombos, a sophomore studying听, sang a portion of 鈥淩eflection鈥� in both Chinese and English before she explained how embracing her mixed-race background meant embracing all the different parts of herself.

鈥淚t means the freedom to choose who I want to be,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 live in intersections, not boxes. I live in hues and blends, not solid colors. I am not 50% white and 50% Asian, but 100% Elaine.鈥�

Student dance organizations听,听,听,听 补苍诲听 showed off their moves in addition to a vocal performance by the听, all impressing the crowd that cheered along.

鈥淣o matter how you orient yourself, we can鈥檛 all fit in a square hole,鈥� said Mia Goins, a senior studying听mathematics(opens in new window), in closing. 鈥淭here is no mold that any two people fit in.鈥�

Yavonna Wu, a first-year student studying听business(opens in new window), sat on a bench outside Purnell Center for the Arts to recover after the high-energy event.听

鈥淚鈥檓 not a very outgoing person, but when I was in there, I was like, 鈥榶eah!鈥� It really hyped me up,鈥� said Wu.

Sitting next to her, Jenny Wang, studying mathematics, said she enjoyed hearing sophomore drama student Moyo Ifafore read Audre Lorde鈥檚 poem 鈥淎 Litany for Survival鈥� during the program.

鈥淪he was a very strong and passionate speaker, and I really loved her body language and her expression,鈥� Wang said. 鈥淲hile the poem talked about common adversity that we all might experience, and I related to that.鈥�

Not far away, on the sidewalk, the group from Street Styles unrolled the square of linoleum they had used onstage, and cranked up more music to teach a group of about 30 students a two-step and other dance moves.

First-year students Veer Lad, studying mathematics; Gabbie Boone, studying听; Laasya Karnati, studying听statistics(opens in new window) 补苍诲听; Taara Kuriyan studying听; Vidhya Vishwanath studying听information systems(opens in new window); and Meher Sayal, studying business, kept dancing even as they walked away from the crowd.

鈥淎ll the upperclassmen, if they see you sort of interested, they don鈥檛 drag you, but they鈥檒l be like, 鈥榟ey, do it, learn it, try it,鈥� and it鈥檚 been really fun seeing people start to realize, 鈥榟ey, this is kind of fun,鈥欌�� Sayal said.

Karnati said she appreciated the emphasis on balancing academics with other passions and well-being.

鈥淵ou always hear about the workload at 麻豆村, but their advice was always make sure you care for your interests and care for your mind,鈥� she said.

Sayal agreed, saying that sentiment had been echoed often during First-Year Orientation.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e meeting new people through new things or old things, and recreating the communities you had or finding new ones through your interests,鈥� she said.

Even as a senior, Zuleima Noriega, an orientation counselor for听Moorewood E-Tower,(opens in new window) said the Community Collage helped him take stock of his time left at Carnegie Mellon.

鈥淢y first year, I remember it inspired me to try so much more than I thought I was capable of and this year was no different,鈥� Noriega said. 鈥淚n fact, it served as a checkpoint for me to see, did I accomplish the things I want to accomplish, and where else can I go now as a senior?鈥�

He said working as a counselor has felt like connecting a missing piece of his experience at Carnegie Mellon, and would encourage anyone to try a similar mentoring position.

鈥淵ou can realize that there are friends everywhere, and to trust in your instincts and intuition to become the best version of yourself,鈥� Noriega said. 鈥淭here are so many people who have their own style of charisma, their own style of humor, their own style of being themselves, in all different groups in all different settings. It鈥檚 cool to see there are so many ways to just be, and inspire first-years at the same time.鈥�