Happy first week of classes! Hope your summer was great and you are ready to jump back into another year of school. Welcome to Beacon Beginnings, a new weekly column giving you tips and tricks on the best ways to get accustomed to UMass Boston.

If you guys are anything like me, then you have been itching to finally be back on campus. For a lot of you this might be your first time being on campus, or maybe you haven’t been on campus in a long time; if this is true for you then this column will help you learn the best ways to get acclimated to UMass Boston. This first entry will be about UMBeInvolved.

I probably don’t have to tell you, but college is expensive. So you could come to classes, learn what you need and leave. However, since you are paying so much money, you should also take advantage of all the activities and clubs that UMass Boston offers. Joining clubs helps you meet new people, create opportunities, and just have fun by joining a club or attending events. UMB has a little something for everyone. Do you like sports? Join intramurals to watch sporting events and get discounted tickets for sporting events. Do you like art? Go to art shows on campus, join the art union, or participate in open mics. 

There are also a bunch of cultural clubs: Casa Latinx, the African Student Union, the Asian Student Union and many more. This is a great way to meet new people. You can experience the culture, eat the food and generally learn more about your classmates. 

Last year obviously all of these big events were cancelled due to the pandemic, but this year these events should be coming back better than ever. That means that we can get off of Zoom and finally get back to having fun on the lawn. 

Now you’re asking, “Jose, we get it, there are many opportunities to get involved on campus, but how can we find things on campus that we are interested in?” Well that is where UMBeinvolved comes in. If you search UMBeInvolved on Google or go to umb.campuslabs.com/engage, you can browse all of the different clubs and organizations on campus. There is a search bar where you can instantly find the clubs or events you are interested in and even a filter system where you can search by category to find the club that is just right for you.

Last year I was a freshman, and I was worried that I wouldn’t meet new people or do anything outside of classes. That was when a friend of mine told me about UMBeInvolved and I learned about all the different clubs available. Since then, I joined the Mass Media and met a bunch of people. Now I have something to look forward to when I get back to campus. UMass Boston is a big school so if you are not actively looking for opportunities to get involved then you might get lost in the sauce, and you don’t want that now do you?

If this was helpful to you then you’re in luck because Beacon Beginnings will be a weekly column where I give you more tips about getting acclimated into UMass Boston. I can share some places to study and other tips to get you through your transition into becoming a true Beacon!