Get Involved! Build Connections, Make Friends, and Be a Part of the Santa Barbara City College Community!
For many when you decide to take the leap of faith and move away for college, the most difficult part is getting out of your comfort zone and meeting new people. Already you are at an advantage with having your suitemates and those who live on your floor, but there are still many more opportunities to get involved and meet new people.
Week of Welcome
The Week of Welcome is a Tropicana Tradition where every day of the first week of school has a budget to help you get to know other people in the building who share similar interests. Past WOW programs have included:
- Wheel Fun – Explore Santa Barbara! Surrey bike around the pier and shoreline of downtown SB.
- Taste of IV – Get your grub on! Take this opportunity to taste of all of the different restaurants we have here in Isla Vista.
- Bowling at Zodo’s – Strike! Enjoy a night out one of the coolest bowling allies you’ve ever been to.
- Casino Night – Black Jack! Put on your Poker face and grab a bag of poker chips to use at different casino themed games. Prizes will be provided to the top winners of the night.
- Hypnotist Show – Watch your new friends do things they’d NEVER do! Master Hypnotist James Kellogg, Jr. visits from Las Vegas to entertain residents during this extremely memorable show.
- Movie Night – See the latest #1 movie! Enjoy good a fun night out at the local Camino Real Metropolitan theater.
- Tie Dye – Let your creative juices flow! with tons of colors and clothing items to choose from!
- S’mores Night – Make s’more friends! Gather around a cozy campfire using Trop’s s’mores stations to make a delicious dessert.
- Beach Day – This one of the main reason you moved to SB, right? Bike over to Goleta beach to enjoy a day in the sand playing volleyball and dipping your toes in the ocean.
- Raffle — Attend all of the events listed, and receive a ticket entry for a prize drawing at the end of the week! Past prizes have included Flat Screen TVs, Beats by Dr.Dre, Gift Cards for local restaurants, and much more!
Tropicana Student Organization (TSO)
Were you active in your schools ASB? Or possibly had a leadership role in a club on campus? Joining the Tropicana Student Organization is a great way to find people similar to you! Meetings are held once a week and we have an executive council who leads each meeting supervised by one of our Residence Directors. Residents hear program proposal from Resident Assistants and vote on what programs get approved and how much money is spent. Residents decide where their TSO money is spent to make sure that the events we do at the building are things our Residents want to attend. By joining TSO you’ll also have the opportunity to plan your own programs in fields you are interested. This is the way fun trips like going to Disneyland or Painting Canvas’ happen. Another cool perk is getting to select the movies that are on Trops TV Channel and Movie viewing website.
On Campus
At SBCC you have an excellent opportunity to be a part of an active student life on campus. Not only are many SBCC classes hands on, so you are getting involved with other students through group activities, but there are also many ways outside of class to get involved. Possible ways to do so include joining a sports team, participating in the theatre department, or joining a club that best suits you.
Trop Programs and Events
Participating in Trop programs is one of the easiest ways to make friends. Your RAs are putting on fun new programs every week that range in a huge variety. Past programs include Painting Canvas’, Hiking Inspiration Point, Playing Dodgeball, Indulging in delicious Boba Tea, Playing Messy Twister, and even Traveling to Disneyland.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways that new Tropicana Residents can get involved in their new community and make friends. But don’t just take my word for it; explore our Facebook page to look at all the fun things our residents have done in years past!
