LGBTQ+ Student Services hosted a speed-friending event in the Student Union on Thursday to help attendees meet new people and build community.
The event gave Knights an open, relaxed environment to connect across majors and backgrounds, including transfer students looking to build a campus circle.
Each seminar table featured custom animal signs, handheld Pride flags and small blue pails filled with folded conversation starters to guide the dialogue.
After filling out personalized name tags with their preferred names and pronouns, participants scanned icebreaker questions projected onto the main screen to talk about their hobbies, favorite games and daily college life.
Throughout the afternoon, students rotated around the room every 5-10 minutes to introduce themselves to a fresh group of peers and keep conversations moving.
Organizers also gave out prizes to participants who engaged closely with their peers, including junior advertising and public relations major Robin Christine, who won a colorful rainbow fan for sharing a fun fact she learned about a tablemate.
By pairing guided discussion prompts with quick group rotations, the mixer aimed to give students a welcoming space to move past small talk, share plenty of laughs and form authentic campus friendships.
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Flashing smiles and waving miniature Pride flags, students celebrate new connections during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session in Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday. Pictured in the top row from left are sophomore environmental science major Jupiter Moraga, senior clinical psychology major Vivian Winters, and junior communications major Lyliany Ocasio. Seated along the front row from left are junior marketing major Jessie Demosthene, junior psychology major Mikaela Ranger, junior business management major Camryn Isidor, and a fellow attendee.
Gesturing across a table scattered with prompt slips, senior clinical psychology major Vivian Winters (right) shares her passion for vampire movies with captivated group members during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session in the Student Union on Thursday. Seated from left to right, junior advertising and public relations pending major Robin Christine, junior psychology major Mikaela Ranger, and junior marketing major Jessie Demosthene lean in as the icebreaker shifted into an animated debate over favorite film genres.
Students gather around Table 7 in Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday to connect over career aspirations during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer. Surrounded by discussion cards and Pride flags, the table leaned in with lively curiosity after one participant shared her dream of becoming a criminal investigator.
Packed with playful icebreakers, a miniature blue tin bucket sits on a seminar table in Room 221 of the Student Union during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer on Thursday. Slips asking quirky questions like “What fruit best represents you?” and “What is your dream travel destination?” helped break the ice and spark fast conversations among attendees across the room.
Slips of paper offering conversation starters like “What games do you play on your phone?” and “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?” spill across a tabletop beside a bright blue bucket during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer in the Student Union on Thursday. The quirky prompts gave attendees an easy way to jump straight into storytelling.
Robin Christine, junior advertising and public relations pending major, poses with a rainbow folding fan she won during the LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer in the Student Union on Thursday. Attendees earned prizes by engaging with icebreaker prompts and conversation cards about their favorite hobbies.
A display of Progress Pride, asexual, bisexual, and lesbian flags sits alongside conversation prompts during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session in Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday.
Attendees fill Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday, aiming their phones at a projected QR code to get involved with future LGBTQ+ Student Services programming. Event organizer Emrys Murphy (far right), student programs coordinator for the Multicultural Student Center, looks on as students navigate themed table markers and timed icebreaker rounds designed to foster community and spark new campus connections.
A cartoon cat illustration marks a conversation station in Room 221 of the Student Union during Thursday’s LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session. Swapping out traditional numbers for friendly animal placards ranging from cats to elephants, organizers with the Multicultural Student Center gave students a whimsical roadmap to find their next circle of peers as the rotation timers sounded.
Flashing smiles and waving miniature Pride flags, students celebrate new connections during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session in Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday. Pictured in the top row from left are sophomore environmental science major Jupiter Moraga, senior clinical psychology major Vivian Winters, and junior communications major Lyliany Ocasio. Seated along the front row from left are junior marketing major Jessie Demosthene, junior psychology major Mikaela Ranger, junior business management major Camryn Isidor, and a fellow attendee.
Gesturing across a table scattered with prompt slips, senior clinical psychology major Vivian Winters (right) shares her passion for vampire movies with captivated group members during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session in the Student Union on Thursday. Seated from left to right, junior advertising and public relations pending major Robin Christine, junior psychology major Mikaela Ranger, and junior marketing major Jessie Demosthene lean in as the icebreaker shifted into an animated debate over favorite film genres.
Students gather around Table 7 in Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday to connect over career aspirations during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer. Surrounded by discussion cards and Pride flags, the table leaned in with lively curiosity after one participant shared her dream of becoming a criminal investigator.
Packed with playful icebreakers, a miniature blue tin bucket sits on a seminar table in Room 221 of the Student Union during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer on Thursday. Slips asking quirky questions like “What fruit best represents you?” and “What is your dream travel destination?” helped break the ice and spark fast conversations among attendees across the room.
Slips of paper offering conversation starters like “What games do you play on your phone?” and “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?” spill across a tabletop beside a bright blue bucket during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer in the Student Union on Thursday. The quirky prompts gave attendees an easy way to jump straight into storytelling.
Robin Christine, junior advertising and public relations pending major, poses with a rainbow folding fan she won during the LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending mixer in the Student Union on Thursday. Attendees earned prizes by engaging with icebreaker prompts and conversation cards about their favorite hobbies.
A display of Progress Pride, asexual, bisexual, and lesbian flags sits alongside conversation prompts during an LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session in Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday.
Attendees fill Room 221 of the Student Union on Thursday, aiming their phones at a projected QR code to get involved with future LGBTQ+ Student Services programming. Event organizer Emrys Murphy (far right), student programs coordinator for the Multicultural Student Center, looks on as students navigate themed table markers and timed icebreaker rounds designed to foster community and spark new campus connections.
A cartoon cat illustration marks a conversation station in Room 221 of the Student Union during Thursday’s LGBTQ+ Student Services speed-friending session. Swapping out traditional numbers for friendly animal placards ranging from cats to elephants, organizers with the Multicultural Student Center gave students a whimsical roadmap to find their next circle of peers as the rotation timers sounded.