By now, the first day of classes are over, Greek houses have been selected, clubs have held their first meetings and The Argonaut has completed its second production cycle of the year.
At this point, most students have started to explore Moscow and the University of Idaho campus and they’ve realized it’s not a big area. This place is small, it’s welcoming and for many, it is home.
It’s easy to feel like Moscow and UI are their own corner of the universe, secluded from the world and a place where university students spend four years as a Vandal and leave forever. This couldn’t be further from the truth and the Vandal network is so much larger and widespread than is
even imaginable.
For the first time in my life during the summer, I lived away from Moscow for more than a few weeks. I know that at almost 22 years old, this may come as a shock to many. But I grew up here, and UI was the perfect fit for me, thus making this my home for substantially longer than the majority of the university population.
And yeah, it does get smaller as you get older. I know a lot of people in this town and I’m likely to run into a friendly face anywhere I go. That corner of the universe feeling is one that’s only gotten stronger the older I’ve gotten, along with the desire to live some place where I don’t know anyone — simply for a change of pace.
But after living in Washington, D.C. for three months, I couldn’t be happier to have the Vandal network behind me.
My roommates were Vandal alumni — connections I made while they went to school here. When I arrived, they were already part of a Vandal community living in the D.C. area. Simply based on our same choice of university, I was instantly welcomed by people I’d never met, but had so much in common with.
The truth is that now that you’re part of this family, you’ll never go anywhere again that hasn’t been touched by a Vandal — even if it’s through a third-party connection.
So take advantage of your time here. Get to know your professors, your classmates and the community.
According to the UI Alumni Office, there are nearly 100,000 Vandal graduates worldwide. Take into account that all 100,000 of those people have families and connections of their own, and you never know when you’ll meet someone who is, was or knows a Vandal.
For example, I was at a Washington Nationals major league baseball game — one of several thousand fans in attendance — and the man standing next to me in the overpriced hotdog line noticed my Vandal T-shirt. He had a cousin who went to school here in the early 2000s. One fan out of thousands and we already had a connection based simply on a logo.
So take advantage, because never again will you be without your Vandal family.
Kaitlyn Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]