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Community provides a sense of belonging and support allowing greater ability to cope
with life struggles.
Being part of a community provides a sense of belonging and emotional support and
brings joy and fulfillment. This can be crucial during stress or crisis. Having people
to talk to and share experiences with helps reduce feelings of isolation, homesickness,
and loneliness. Participating in community activities and events introduces social
engagement and provides opportunities for positive social interactions, which benefit
mental health. Being part of a community also helps individuals feel connected to
something larger than themselves, endearing a sense of individual identity and social
belonging that can enhance mental well-being. There are too many things going on around
campus for us to put it all here. We'll point you in a few directions, it's up to
you, however, to go and engage in community. That can be scary sometimes. Often, it's
more frightening in our heads before it happens than when we have already mustered
the courage to go and are there enjoying ourselves.
Click through the stack below to see some ways to engage with the community:
Connect with your community
“EVENTS ALL YEAR! Hosts the majority of student-led events on and off campus. These
events include TGIT, Groundhog, Fall Fest, Prima Faira, Spring Formal, Music on the
Mall, Quiz Bowl, Wine Down Wednesday, and more!”
Connect with the CAB!
“With the Mall App's BannerWeb connection, you can keep up with UD events, clubs, and
organizations, as well as classes, grades, financial aid, and more.”
Download the Mall App!
“Campus Ministry also offers a variety of activities and other ways for students to
get involved in the University of Dallas community. Offering various ministries and
retreats, free dinners, pilgrimages, services, and missions, or just a place to hangout
between classes or study. Located on the 2nd floor of SB Hall (rooms 254).”
See more!
“UD has over 50 student-run clubs and organizations to meet various personal, social,
political, recreational, and religious interests. Active participation in clubs and
organizations is recommended and encouraged for all students to develop the whole
person: body and soul, heart and mind.”
See the TONS of Student Clubs & Orgs.
“The Office of Student Activities & Recreational Services offers a variety of recreational
programs for participants of all fitness levels and interests. Opportunities include
extracurricular recreational classes, weekend and one-day tournaments, as well as
a variety of intramural sports competitions. Students for students organize all rec
programming events and activities! You can check out how you can get involved in Rec
Programming by clicking on Get Involved to the left.”
You Got Next!
“The Student Government Senate is made up of elected representatives from the different
communities on campus. Senate elections are held during the first few weeks of the
fall semester and again at the beginning of the spring semester if there are vacancies.
The Executive Council consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer,
who work to communicate with the administration about the affairs of the Student Government.”
You can make a difference.
“Don’t let your college years be ordinary. An extraordinary opportunity of faith and
friendship lies before you—all you have to do is embrace it. Find out how.”
Meet the FOCUS Missionaries!
“Located in Haggar Center and founded by Patrick “Pat” Daly, alumnus, Rome assistant,
Rome Director and VP of Admiration. He brought a piece of Rome to the Irving Campus.
Enjoy your favorite coffee while visiting with your fellow students.”
Caffeinate!
“Under the direction of the Drama Department, the University Theater is an extracurricular
organization that presents a series of major productions annually. While each production's
acting company and technical crew is composed of students from every university program,
those pursuing the course of study in drama have found that this opportunity to put
their theoretical knowledge into exciting and challenging practice is essential to
their growth in this field.”
Want Drama?
“The UD Music Department ensures a vibrant musical presence on campus. Students can
participate in the UD Chorale, which performs a diverse repertoire from Gregorian
chant to contemporary works. Additionally, they can take applied lessons in piano,
voice, violin, cello, guitar, and organ. Monthly student recitals, special concerts,
liturgies, and campus visit weekends provide performance opportunities2.”
Strike a chord with your community!
“Students can attend religious services and daily Mass at the 500-seat Church of the
Incarnation. The church also houses the St. Thomas Aquinas Eucharistic Chapel. Because
it is centrally located and open 24 hours daily, students are only a brief walk away
for prayer and reflection.”
The Church of the Incarnation
“Love for one's neighbor is a virtue students make manifest through many opportunities
to serve those in need in Irving, in the wider Dallas-Fort Worth community, and beyond.
At UD, we are deeply committed to the transformative power of serving others. Rooted
in the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching, the University of Dallas is a faith-filled
community where students, faculty, and staff enjoy many opportunities to engage in
charitable works of mercy to aid those in need.”
Support the greater community.
“With its central location, low cost of living, warm weather, and abundant leisure
activities, it's no surprise that Dallas/Fort Worth leads the nation in job growth.
There are plenty of personal and professional opportunities for students in the nation's
fourth-largest metropolitan area. UD's Irving campus is about 20 minutes from two
international airports and world-class venues for sports, arts, entertainment, and
culture, all easily accessible by public transportation.”
Discover Dallas.
Yeah, but...
OK, so a lot is happening around campus for students to engage, feel connected, and
enjoy time with the community. However, some students find it challenging to connect
with the community, whether this is due to anxiousness, depressiveness, phobias, a
lack of confidence in social skills, avoidant tendencies, or other struggles. College
students with these concerns often struggle to connect with the community in healthy
ways, leading to potentially engaging in harmful or unhelpful behaviors. These struggles
can indeed affect students' academic performance and personal lives. The Wellness
Map hopes to address social anxiety among college students and enhance their community
engagement by connecting them to the appropriate level of care to address their needs.
However, only some people must jump up to Steps 6 or above. Some just need to move
up to step 3 and increase their skills to better connect with the community.
Some suggestions include promoting positive social media use and improving communication
capacity through active engagement on social media to alleviate social anxiety (see
connections to various student-engaged social media pages in the slider above). Implementing
coping strategies programs has effectively reduced rejection sensitivity and social
anxiety among college students, enhancing their psychosocial adaptation and interpersonal
communication (more on this in Step 3). Additionally, improving family and friend
connections has been identified as a mechanism to reduce social anxiety among college
students, thereby boosting their psychological resilience, easing social anxiety,
and deepening Purposeful Intentionality.
These challenges may pose significant difficulties for college students engaging with
their community. By implementing interventions that focus on improving social skills,
addressing unhelpful or harmful behaviors, promoting positive coping strategies, and
strengthening support systems, colleges can help students overcome these struggles
and actively participate more fully in community activities. This is what we will
start to address when moving up the Steps.
PURPOSEFUL INTENTIONALITY
The first step, though, is to try. Pick one thing. Tell yourself to try that one thing.
Maybe it will be great, perhaps it’ll just be OK, maybe it will suck, but at least
you will have made a step towards having more social support. You may also glean important
information that would be helpful for you to know - why it is that you struggle to
connect socially. That gives us something to work with. This can help set your steps
on more stable ground in the future. Be patient with yourself; you can do this, and
we (your community) can help.
If you have information about why connecting is a struggle, you can try to develop
the necessary skills (Step 3), talk to your peers and people of support (Step 4),
or access additional resources (Steps 5+) to get you to the point where you feel comfortable
and confident engaging with your community.
If you continually struggle to connect socially, maybe you need a little extra support.
Please feel free to contact our Case Manager if you need more help.