Human Connection

John (‘22 & ‘25) arrived at the CU Boulder in fall 2018, studying electrical engineering and music performance, and continued on for a Masters in Creative Technology and Design. John has been involved in many activities on campus, including fencing, electrical engineering clubs, and improv comedy, as well as various music groups.

When the Covid pandemic shut down the country, he decided to remain on campus. “It was a good call for me,” he said, “but it was tough.” Coming out of the Covid bubble, John found that it had changed how he interacted with people. “I think, for everyone, not just me, the way we talked to everyone was different,” he explained. “I felt that, for some reason, there was some barrier between me and a new person. How did I start a conversation with them? Was I being a nuisance?” When he started coming to Bread+Belonging Tuesday dinners, he found an opportunity simply to talk to other people and just get to know them. Those conversations began to break down that barrier he had been feeling. “I particularly enjoyed the eclecticness of the people there–anyone could come, and it drew a lot of unique people and unique perspectives. There were people who were students, people who were curious about faith, people who were just there for food,” John said. “It made for honest and fun conversations, and created more moments for the natural human connection to happen. There are fewer and fewer opportunities to find those kinds of spaces in the world.”

Now newly married and working and living in the Boulder area, John points out that Bread+Belonging has given him a model for building community. “For me,” he reflects, “it’s given me an example of gathering people, and what that can look like, and what it feels like to have a community of people who are open. I want to build that kind of community for myself. B+B was a good model for that and also a good model of leadership for what it takes to bring people together just to be together.”

Bread+Belonging's values of hospitality and abundant curiosity, making possible the kinds of conversations that John and so many others have enjoyed. We are grateful for your generous support for this community!