Gabrielle Beecher gets dressed, goes to class and then sits down with strangers to listen to their stories.
Beecher, a 19-year-old UF journalism freshman, runs a Facebook page called Humans of UF, where she collects quotes and photos of people around campus.
She was inspired by the popular Facebook page Humans of New York, she said.
“I became so fascinated with how people were so willing to open up in such a short period of time,” she said.
She said her goal for the page is to help the Gator Nation feel connected, she said.
“It’s uniting people through pictures and quotes, so they’ll get to see the things that brochures don’t show you,” she said.
Will Cuadra, a 22-year-old UF chemical engineering senior, said the page shows diversity on campus.
“I think it’s good ‘cause everyone you meet has their own story and is fighting their own battles,” he said.
Beecher talks to people who look bored or too interesting to pass up, she said.
Her trick to getting people to open up is skipping the small talk.
“I always use as my warm-up question, ‘What’s something about you that people would be surprised to know?’” she said.
Sigal Carmenate, a UF visual art studies sophomore, said she found the page after a friend posted about it on Facebook.
“I feel like Humans of UF is just gonna make people realize that we can have a deeper connection,” the 19-year-old said. “It’s just a conversation away.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 4/1/2014 under the headline "Humans of UF page aims to connect students via Facebook"]
