Cate Slaughter of Charlottesville, Virginia, said she has a simple and journalistic method when meeting people at cherubs: In lectures or in the dining hall, she sits next to new people and asks them questions.
“Where are you from? Do you have siblings? What do you do outside of journalism?”
Slaughter said writing ice breakers down in her notes app before arriving at the program helped her navigate first conversations.
“It sounds silly,” Slaughter said. “But that helps me calm my nerves when I’m meeting a lot of new people all at once.”
Unlike Slaughter, Nikhil Daniel of Orlando, Florida, said he does not have a lineup of ice breakers or a one-minute elevator pitch pre-prepared. On the first day, when he introduced himself to a cherub in the Jones elevator, Daniel resorted to politics.
“It was an awkward start, but a happy ending,” he said.
Daniel said the cherub he met on the first day is now one of his closest friends in the program. He said his advice to future cherubs is that while religion and politics are not great leading topics when introducing yourself, “if it works, it works.”
Alex Fagell of Washington, D.C., said getting access to the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion with a group of cherubs on the second day created the foundation for their friendships.
“It provided a chance to see what made each person unique,” Fagell said.
Alexa Gola of Chicago said the scramble of the All-day Story was one adventure that introduced her to people across all floors.
“Because it was so fast, we had to ask each other for help,” Gola said.
By the end of the program, Gola said her friends aren’t just those who live next to her. She added that when she walks into the Jones elevator, she and her friends press three buttons. One for each floor.
