Dougherty Family College students Daesia Johnson and Bilal Madow were recently interviewed by the Chronicle of Higher Education for a special report on overcoming student loneliness, including the importance of socialization and extracurricular activities.
From the report:
Affinity groups provide students, especially from underrepresented demographics, “a sense of foundation and confidence.” …
Madow was iffy about college – with a 2.8 GPA in high school, he was an unmotivated student. But at St. Thomas, he says, “I get to see people who look like me succeed, and I’m like, ‘I can do it too.’”
Like his classmates, he sometimes hides in his headphones and shies away from socializing. But a little bit of a push is good, he says, and he gets that push when, say, a Hispanic student group organizes a dance or lines up a taco truck. “Those events really do get people together and get them to socialize,” he says. It becomes “a general spot just filled with compassion and integrity.”
“We’re just a very welcoming family. We don’t judge anybody. That’s another thing we love about this campus.” LGBT, Muslim, Black, you name it, Madow says, “anybody and everybody is invited to these groups, and they actually learn new things off of each other.”
