As you begin to meet your classmates, you’ll notice their diverse talents and passions for the experiences that they pursue. Many of them, you’ll find, will gravitate towards the arts—Wes has an extraordinarily broad array of musicians, visual artists, thespians, dancers, and creators of every stripe. This can be intimidating. Many of you may not have known nearly this many people passionate about the arts before coming to Wesleyan. But the most important thing to remember about this new community of the creatively-minded is the incredible opportunities it provides.

Obviously you don’t have time to accept every opportunity, but don’t be afraid to try things you haven’t experienced yet. For instance, I played in the pit orchestra for an original musical in the fall of my freshman year. While I had played in orchestras before, the chance to play completely original music for an original production was unlike anything I had done before. The most important part of this experience, like many at Wes, is that it gave me the chance to meet other musicians at Wesleyan and opened further opportunities. One of the musicians in the pit asked me to come jam with a new band he was forming, which led to the creation of The Taste, which has given me the opportunity to play funk music all around campus and occasionally off campus with some seriously incredible musicians. When you participate in art at Wesleyan, it’s not something you do on your own—you’ll find others who share similar interests, leading to new opportunities for expression and creativity.

Despite this collective approach to the arts, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of waiting for opportunities to come to you. Given the vast variety of your talented peers, you’ll get the most out of the community by making your own opportunities, finding people with similar interests and similar creative drive to make your vision a reality. In high school, I had always wanted to play in a ska band— it’s not easy to be a punk fan and horn player, but ska can make a trumpeter a rock star for once. By reaching out to the musicians I met within my first month at Wesleyan, I was able to help put together Aaron Burr and the Hamiltones. Since then, we’ve played all over campus— once even in a dorm room in the Butts. By taking initiative and looking for others who share one’s interests, Wes students are able to create the arts opportunities they want to have on campus.

Wesleyan is a unique campus with a very eclectic student body. The most important piece of advice I can give any artist entering this wonderful community is to enjoy exploring what art you can create as well as the art of your peers. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.