“It’s really easy at a school like Milwaukee, a commuter school, to get lost and everybody’s head is down on their phones.”

Leanna Kraina is a transfer student at UWM. She’s a senior studying Communication. After coming to UWM in the middle of the pandemic, she had to adjust to the new normal of life on campus for students. Now Leanna is very involved on campus as a student and intern for Campus Activities Board, where she helps plan events for students.

Mackenzie Krueger: Before starting college what expectations did you have before starting and how do you feel surprised about your college experience now?

Leanna Kraina: My hopes were to meet a lot of friends and be connected on campus. When It comes to my expectations of how I thought my college experience would be I’d say yes and no because I’ve had both of those experiences like gaining a lot of friends and having a sense of independence but I don’t think I would’ve expected it to be exactly like how college functions. I definitely went into college very blindsided and I think people are less likely to talk to someone they don’t know.

Q: Tell me about your experience coming to UWM and where you’re at now

A: I came to UWM my sophomore year only knowing two people and I decided not to live in the dorms. I ended up living off campus with a couple of friends so I didn’t know anyone and just went to my classes. UWM was great for me because I was ready to be back in school and I think it can be hard for some students to come back after taking a break, but I personally was motivated and I took full advantage of the resources offered on campus. Getting involved really helped make my experience positive.Getting a job on campus right away helped me meet a lot of people. As far as meeting people, having a job on campus was one of the main ways I met more people I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t working.

Q: Do you feel UWM does a good job at making students feel like they belong?

A: Yes and no I think there’s a little bit of a gap between figuring out how to get more students to go to events that are happening and sometimes I think this is a challenge. I would say UWM does a good job at trying to encourage students to get involved and come to things, but I think it’s more for freshman students who live on campus and not older students, but overall I think UWM does a great job at being inclusive with things going on and offering resources and events to all students because there’s stuff happening all the time.

Q: What advice would you give another student who’s wanting to get the most out of their experience at UWM?

A: Make sure that you’re putting yourself out there because it’s really easy at a school like Milwaukee, a commuter school to get lost and everybody’s head is down on their phones and they won’t notice you so it’s not exactly what you thought college was going to be like when you imagined it. It can be hard to meet people at times. Especially since I did not live in the dorms, I really had to put myself out there to meet people. Getting involved in campus events offered on campus and it’s so important to be outgoing and to attend these events going on because that’s how you’ll meet more people and get involved with the things happening on campus. I also got involved with the student success center because I was having  a hard time getting organized and they helped me with tutoring. Because in my first year I had some mental health issues I utilized the ARC which is a great resource that a lot of students don’t even know about that they can assist you with if you’re dealing with mental health issues. They also helped with deadline flexibility which is something that could be useful to so many students on campus and this is something more students should know about because mental health issues are something many people are experiencing.

Q: How do you feel about the environment on campus now that the mask mandate was lifted?

A: It’s hard because I am in online classes, but I can say things are finally feeling similar to the way it was before the pandemic. I’ve been here for so long that I did experience what things were like before Covid so I can say it still feels slightly different from that time and things are not the same, I don’t know if they ever will be, but it’s definitely a good feeling to see people back on campus and it finally feels normal again now that the mask mandate is lifted. It was hard being online for majors like mine because you really lose a lot of the experience so it’s just nice to see things feel more normal. I think it’s important that our school does a good job at helping students transition back in person because most of us have only been here during the pandemic. For me personally, I kept my classes online because the change to in person is nerve racking. I feel like it’s a hard adjustment to get used to the changes from online to back in person for so many students.