As just one new face in a sea of 38,000 students, transitioning into UCLA campus life can feel even more daunting than just facing the four-year maze of papers and professors that looms ahead.

But the university experience does not have to be navigated alone. UCLA offers many services to help students integrate themselves into their new environment, including an on-campus housing community and programs geared to help students work through their problems and find and pursue their passions.

The first people many students will meet are others who live in their residence halls – both Office of Residential Life staff and fellow students.

Dave Karlik, a third-year physiological science student, found his first-year niche in floor government.

“It helped me get involved and get to know people and helped me know what opportunities are available on campus,” he said.

In the fall, Karlik will be a resident assistant, a decision he said was motivated by his desire to help others have good dorm experiences of their own.

“I want to put on a variety of programs, especially in the first week,” Karlik said. “I think it’s important to bond the floor together early.”

Another facet of on-campus living is the Faculty in Residence program. A university faculty member, often a professor, lives in each residence hall.

These faculty members offer advice and companionship and often schedule hall-wide programs designed to enhance students’ dorm experiences while making themselves even more accessible, said Ronni Sanlo. Sanlo is a professor of education and the director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Resource Center, and plans to continue at Dykstra Hall for her fifth year as a faculty member in residence.

“I might help a student figure out what classes to take next quarter, figure out the topic for a research paper, figure out what good places to study might be on campus,” said Sanlo. “We become a family of sorts.”

But campus resources are not limited to the area around the residence halls or even to students who already know what they are looking for.

The Center for Women and Men offers counseling, workshops and support groups on many topics including but not limited to gender-related issues. The center also helps students find other campus and community resources that might interest them.

Tina Oakland, director of the center, encourages students to visit even if they do not have a specific question or dilemma.

“It’s a good place to start when you don’t know where to begin,” she said.

Students can also visit Student Psychological Services for scheduled or drop-in counseling and referrals.

Hal Pruett, director of SPS, said anxiety and depression are two major problems students seek treatment for at SPS, but that students should feel free to come in for any reason.

SPS regularly deals with adjustment problems, emotionally rooted academic difficulties, and relationship and roommate issues, he said.

“They shouldn’t feel that they somehow have to have a serious problem in order for us to help them,” Pruett said.

The UCLA Career Center, often frequented by students scrambling for jobs, can be a valuable resource for students beginning to think about their academic or professional careers.

“A lot of students make the assumption that the career center is for upperclassmen,” said Kathy Sims, director of the center.

But the facility also offers services that can help underclassmen figure out their interests and make decisions about which majors or careers to pursue, Sims said.

She added that students can take advantage of the career center when looking for summer jobs or internships, or to find opportunities to study abroad.

Karlik emphasized that no matter which resources students use to transition more easily into university life, they should look for activities they are passionate about and not shy away from opportunities.

“Don’t procrastinate, but don’t panic,” Oakland said. “There’s a lot of good support.”