Get Involved!
Get involved in your department and around the University. The bottom line is, you will be spending a number of years here. So be an active part of your graduate experience! Try out some of the stuff below, and make it a good 4…5…6… or hopefully not 7 years.
There are a number of ways to do this. Hanging out in the your grad lounge during the day seems to be a popular one, but others include playing intramural sports, playing “pick-up” sports, joining clubs, geeting involved with GSA, and helping out with activities within the department.
Sports
Contrary to the popular myth, graduate students are not necessarily a four-eyed physical wreck, attached to their research until the earliest hours of the morning. There are those who engage in a number of sporting activities, ranging from racquetball and badminton to fencing to swimming and surfing. Asking around can find you partners or like-minded enthusiasts.
Check out Sports for more Info on organized and pick-up sports, or other fun things like rec classes or the local gyms.
Clubs
At UCSD, there is a club for almost every interest (and if there isn't one, you could always start one!). A good way to get a sampling of the many clubs is to check out the Fall Festival on the Green (FFOG). This outdoor event takes place usually sometime early in the fall quarter, one year it was held on the Sun God lawn. Most campus clubs will have an information table, with volunteers answering your questions.
Department Activities
One of the best ways to meet people in the department (especially large departments) is to help out with department activities. Check the Departments page for information specific to your department.
Some Ideas
- Go to the Hari Krishna lunch.
- Learn to hang glide at the Glider Port
- Salsa at the UTC Marriott on Friday’s and Saturday’s 8pm-1:30am
- Happy Hours: Rock Bottom, El Torito, Cozymel’s
- Live Latin Jazz on Wednesdays at Tutto Mare. (Bottom floor of Well's Fargo building in UTC)
- Landmark-independent theater near campus. (Just off Villa La Jolla Dr.)
- Hang out at a one of the Coffee Shops
- One-time Events
- Check out the local Movie Theaters
- Look at the page of campus meet-ups and start going
