As a winner of the #BearDownMaskUp Challenge, dance major Christina Calden hopes to keep students connected via the University Pen Pals. This new program aims to link students via letters, email and zoom calls, allowing connections to be built while socially distanced.
UPDATE from Christina … “The University Pen Pals concept was successful during the fall semester because there were many students who were not on campus. There were about 90 international students and freshmen who participated. I think that might have been due to the difficulty in finding a group of friends in a completely new environment during the pandemic. Many continued to stay connected with their pen pal throughout the spring semester as well.
Sponsored by the Provost’s office, Calden hopes to build communities within the university. “I was worried about freshmen, in particularly the international students, who may have missed chances to build connections due to the pandemic,” she said. “Many students aren’t even in Tucson and I wanted them to still feel connected to the university despite not being on campus.”
As a Filipino-American, Calden encourages all students to join and create everlasting relationships that are strengthened by different cultures.
If you are interested in participating in this program, please fill out the respective form to be matched with another student.