A formula for maximizing your Chapman experience

By Jerry Price

Congratulations to The Panther on reaching this 100-year milestone, and I appreciate the invitation to participate in the celebration. I am going to use this opportunity to share some of my own insights into the Chapman student experience. 

In my 18 years as the Dean of Students, I was grateful to observe firsthand just how many students thrived during their time at Chapman. Trust me: the Chapman student experience is not typical — it is rare and special. 

As a lifelong student of students, I was always motivated to understand more about what makes the Chapman experience so enriching and rewarding. After years of thinking about this deeply, during my last year as dean, I finally came up with a formula that I believe answers this question — and like any good formula, it involves X and Y:

Students who thrive at Chapman pursue academic/career opportunity X while also investing in personal interest Y. 

Of course, the mission of Chapman is to provide an education that will serve as the foundation for your future career goals — that is the X in this formula; you cannot be successful at Chapman without taking this X seriously. So, what is the Y? It is any one of the countless other opportunities at Chapman in which you can really invest your energy. 

We’re not talking about extracurricular busywork you do primarily to pad your résumé; Y is an involvement opportunity that has deep meaning for you personally. Importantly, like any good algebraic formula, the variables of X and Y can represent many different things. 

Sometimes the X and the Y are closely related, such as an English major who enjoys writing for The Panther or a Chapman literary journal, or a communication studies major who gets involved with Chapman Radio. However, for many of our students, their Y is often completely unrelated to their X. A computer science major who enjoys singing and joins one of our a cappella groups, or a biology major who performs in one of our improv organizations.

For our student athletes, the Y is often (but not always) their chosen sport. For many of our fraternity and sorority members, their chapter is their Y. These are just some examples, but I'm sure you can look at the friends around you and see many, many others. They are everywhere. 

Can you be successful at Chapman only focusing on the X? Of course — again, your X is the core reason why you are here, but in focusing only on the X, you are leaving so many other valuable experiences on the table. And while you may find great enjoyment in your Y experience, the true value of Y is not in the experience itself, but in the interpersonal connections that go along with it. Y is often where you meet those friends who share the interests and values that are closest to your heart — the friends who truly get you. It is those meaningful relationships that generate the greatest rewards. 

However, unlike X, which you are required to declare, you must take affirmative steps to seek out Y. Y requires effort and risk. Putting yourself out there voluntarily comes easily for some college students, but can be very intimidating for most others (I know it was for me). 

Fortunately, one of the very best things about the Chapman experience is that the Y opportunities are endless. You can always find something that fits your current interests or, if you feel particularly adventurous, a completely new interest to explore. The key is to commit yourself to that effort. The students who get the most out of their Chapman experience are those who choose to seize the opportunities around them. I can promise you that the rewards will be worth it.