As just one new face in a sea of 38,000 students, transitioning
into UCLA campus life can feel even more daunting than just facing
the four-year maze of papers and professors that looms ahead.
But the university experience does not have to be navigated
alone. UCLA offers many services to help students integrate
themselves into their new environment, including an on-campus
housing community and programs geared to help students work through
their problems and find and pursue their passions.
The first people many students will meet are others who live in
their residence halls ““ both Office of Residential Life staff
and fellow students.
Dave Karlik, a third-year physiological science student, found
his first-year niche in floor government.
“It helped me get involved and get to know people and
helped me know what opportunities are available on campus,”
he said.
In the fall, Karlik will be a resident assistant, a decision he
said was motivated by his desire to help others have good dorm
experiences of their own.
“I want to put on a variety of programs, especially in the
first week,” Karlik said. “I think it’s important
to bond the floor together early.”
Another facet of on-campus living is the Faculty in Residence
program. A university faculty member, often a professor, lives in
each residence hall.
These faculty members offer advice and companionship and often
schedule hall-wide programs designed to enhance students’
dorm experiences while making themselves even more accessible, said
Ronni Sanlo. Sanlo is a professor of education and the director of
the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Resource Center,
and plans to continue at Dykstra Hall for her fifth year as a
faculty member in residence.
“I might help a student figure out what classes to take
next quarter, figure out the topic for a research paper, figure out
what good places to study might be on campus,” said Sanlo.
“We become a family of sorts.”
But campus resources are not limited to the area around the
residence halls or even to students who already know what they are
looking for.
The Center for Women and Men offers counseling, workshops and
support groups on many topics including but not limited to
gender-related issues. The center also helps students find other
campus and community resources that might interest them.
Tina Oakland, director of the center, encourages students to
visit even if they do not have a specific question or dilemma.
“It’s a good place to start when you don’t
know where to begin,” she said.
Students can also visit Student Psychological Services for
scheduled or drop-in counseling and referrals.
Hal Pruett, director of SPS, said anxiety and depression are two
major problems students seek treatment for at SPS, but that
students should feel free to come in for any reason.
SPS regularly deals with adjustment problems, emotionally rooted
academic difficulties, and relationship and roommate issues, he
said.
“They shouldn’t feel that they somehow have to have
a serious problem in order for us to help them,” Pruett
said.
The UCLA Career Center, often frequented by students scrambling
for jobs, can be a valuable resource for students beginning to
think about their academic or professional careers.
“A lot of students make the assumption that the career
center is for upperclassmen,” said Kathy Sims, director of
the center.
But the facility also offers services that can help
underclassmen figure out their interests and make decisions about
which majors or careers to pursue, Sims said.
She added that students can take advantage of the career center
when looking for summer jobs or internships, or to find
opportunities to study abroad.
Karlik emphasized that no matter which resources students use to
transition more easily into university life, they should look for
activities they are passionate about and not shy away from
opportunities.
“Don’t procrastinate, but don’t panic,”
Oakland said. “There’s a lot of good
support.”