Siblings Chris and Lauren Behr have grown up together. They’ve traveled together. They’ve shared a love for snowboarding, music and family together.
And now their bond goes beyond being a part of the Behr family to being a part of the Bruin family.
Though Lauren Behr, a fourth-year political science student, will be graduating this month, her younger brother Chris Behr will be following in her footsteps as an incoming freshman student.
While the senior class prepares to don their caps and gowns after finals, an entire new generation of UCLA students is counting down the days until they officially become students in the fall.
Small fish in a big pond
Because of her own rewarding experiences at UCLA, Lauren Behr was more than a little excited for her younger brother when she found out he was planning to come to UCLA this fall.
Having experienced the ups and downs of life as a Bruin, Behr can lend her brother the helping hand she said she wishes she had when she was a freshman.
“I wish I had taken advantage earlier on of all the different ways to become involved,” she said. “(So) I’ve talked to him about student life and things to expect in the dorms and what to look out for … (mostly) to enjoy the time he has here.”
Chris Behr, an incoming first-year graphic design student, said his decision to come to UCLA was partly due to his sister, who helped open his eyes to the school’s advantages.
“I hadn’t really thought about (UCLA) before she got accepted. I started to visit the school, seeing her. That’s when I started getting an interest for it,” Behr said.
Freshman year can be influential in building the foundation for people’s experiences at UCLA.
“I didn’t know what to expect, and I think I was excited about the challenge of finding my niche in a big university like this,” Lauren Behr said.
But she said she also faced the challenge of adjusting to the large size of UCLA her freshman year.
Incoming freshmen can feel overwhelmed by the size of the school, with 25,432 undergraduates and 11,179 graduates enrolled in fall 2006, according to the UCLA Web site.
Nouchee Vang, an incoming first-year biology student, said she fears she won’t make friends due to her shy and quiet nature.
“What if I don’t meet anyone? What if I’m too quiet?” she said. “I’m a little scared ““ what if I’m not up to the challenge?”
Andrea Edmonds, a fourth-year English student, said that as a freshman she experienced some difficulties finding her niche in such a large university.
“I went to a small all-girls private high school. The transition to UCLA was really rough for me, going to all those huge classes; I felt like I was lost in a sea of students,” Edmonds said.
But after a couple quarters, Edmonds said she became accustomed to the large number of students at UCLA, partly due to the vibrant atmosphere of the campus and the variety of opportunities to socialize.
“If you want to make friends, you need to try; join clubs, go to social things on your dorm room floor. Once you force yourself to do things like that, you start to come out of your shell more ““ it’s part of a maturing process,” Edmonds said.
But some incoming freshmen consider the transition from a much smaller high school to a large university such as UCLA an exciting prospect.
“The environment (at UCLA) is a lot bigger than my school. I’ll be around so many more people and exposed to so many different things. I know I’m going to meet a lot of new people (who are) pretty school-oriented, driven and motivated ““ that’s so exciting for me,” said Ashley Brumell, an incoming first-year undeclared life sciences student.
Kyle Curson, an incoming first-year political science student, said he believes he’ll have little trouble making friends, but he hopes the friends he makes are genuine ones.
“What I’m worried about is finding true friends,” Curson said. “I’m afraid people will put on that fake personality because they’ll be too worried about looking good.”
The learning curve
For incoming freshmen, it can be both exciting and intimidating to come to a school as academically prestigious as UCLA.
Curson said one of the things he’s most looking forward to at UCLA is a change of pace from the unstimulating academic environment of his high school to the nourishing academic culture of UCLA.
“In (my) high school, if you study, it’s considered a bad thing. People look down on learning like it’s dirty, and I think that’s pretty ridiculous,” Curson said.
Chris Behr said he was similarly attracted to UCLA because he knew he would receive an enriching education as a Bruin and was drawn to the prestige of the graphic design program.
“Through research I found that UCLA has one of the best graphic design programs in the country. I couldn’t see myself at any other school,” Chris said.
But along with the academic prestige of UCLA come freshmen’s anxieties about whether or not they will be able to keep up with the rigorous academic pace of UCLA.
“I worry that I am not going to be successful,” Brumell said. “I hear a lot of stories about people getting distracted in college, falling off track, getting caught up in other things.”
Vang also said she feels a little worried that she might not be able to compete with the rest of the students at UCLA.
“(At the high school) I come from … I’m a top student (but) going to a school like UCLA, it will be a bigger pond,” Vang said.
But Gabriel Trafas, a fourth-year English student, said the academics at UCLA can be the most enriching part of the college experience, so long as students don’t put unhealthy pressure on themselves to get certain grades.
“The classroom experience … caused me to become a fuller human being,” Trafas said. “(But) when I would put too much pressure on myself to get an A or a certain grade, that could oftentimes take the fun out of it.”
“My advice (for freshmen) would be to work really hard but not make it a case about establishing one’s identity.”
A new chapter
The incoming freshmen and the outgoing senior class share many similarities.
Both are saying goodbye to a four-year experience that has shaped their present-day dreams and personalities, and both are embarking on a new chapter of their lives that will continue to influence them as the years progress.
Edmonds said these similarities are due to the fact that both incoming freshmen and departing seniors are essentially in the same boat, as both are leaving familiar environments and getting ready to create new lives for themselves in strange new environments.
“I’m entering the career world where I have to start all over and try to find jobs and enter new social circles all over again. In that respect, (freshmen and seniors are) basically doing the same thing,” she said.
But Edmonds said the difference she sees between incoming freshmen and outgoing seniors is the level of maturity and confidence with which seniors can move on to this next step.
“I’m more prepared for (entering a new environment), whereas when I was a freshman I was sort of nervous. Now I’m more confident. I feel like I can get through it,” Edmonds said.
Looking back on her four years in high school, Vang said she feels she has grown a lot and will miss a lot of the great memories she formed there.
“I’ve come a long way,” Vang said. “I’ve experienced a lot of stuff and met a lot of great friends (who’ve) helped me through a lot last year and this year. I’ll be so sad to graduate.”
Though Lauren Behr and Chris Behr are parting their separate ways, both sister and brother are taking on new beginnings after graduation. Chris Behr will be getting ready to officially become a Bruin and Lauren Behr will be interning this summer at a nonprofit organization.
Reflecting on her last four years, Lauren said her experiences at UCLA have helped build her excitement for entering the work force.
“As an incoming freshman, you are excited about the prospect of what college is, and as a graduating senior … you walk away as a mature individual,” she said. “By the end of my time here, I became specifically interested in international development, so I’m going to pursue this field working.”