The Case Western Reserve University community is known for thinking beyond the possible. Each week, this column aims to capture a slice of campus life.

Q: What’s been the biggest change coming back to college?
A: The biggest change is that I’m trying new stuff. I used to be a lazy guy, but now I’m more active. I go to the gym every day, do different kinds of sports and try new clubs. They cheer me up, and I feel a lot of new changes—I feel stronger. I used to just listen to music and stay at home, but now I’m socializing with people.

Q: What made you decide to make these changes?
A: Maybe it’s because I used to have a lot of friends. I felt pretty lonely here, especially the first semester, and I started to change things to make new friends.

Q: What’s been your best memory with your friends?
A: The second month after I came here, I joined a club, and we added a small part to toys—like cars and bears—to make them more suitable for disabled children, like kids who can’t see, hear or move. We made it easier for the kids to play with these toys, and I think that’s good. It felt like a very meaningful thing.

Stephanie Kim/Observer

Q: I don’t know if you know this, but there have been a lot of events on campus celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Have you been to any of them?
A: Yeah, I went to the symposium. It was awesome. It’s nice to be involved and learn about civic engagement, civil rights and getting involved in the community.

Q: What do you think is something the CWRU community can do to further help with these sorts of issues?
A: In terms of the community and getting people more acclimated with different issues like race, sexual orientation and gender—those issues are really important right now, and people are ignorant about them—I think the latest thing they’re doing right now is Diversity 360. Basically, you come together, and it’s almost like a training about these issues, what people should be aware of and how to be careful of what they say. I think the solution comes down to people talking about things and being open, talking about different backgrounds and cultural experiences.