I was in my Communications class one day when I thought, “Who are these people?” I had sat in the same chair, multiple hours a week, for almost three months, yet I hadn’t spoken to a single classmate. I was missing out on getting to know some of the most interesting people around me. What if someone sitting next to me had a hidden talent? I wouldn’t know unless I asked—so I did just that.

The first classmate I talked to was Emily Scott, a 19-year-old liberal arts major I met in my French class. Emily’s hidden talent is tarot reading. Her mom bought her first deck of cards when she was 14, and she has been practicing readings ever since. Her interest in tarot card reading began from watching psychic readers on the side of the road and online. What fascinated me most was the spiritual impact tarot reading has had on her. She has become more emotionally intuitive and connects deeply with the people she is reading. And, the cards she showed me were absolutely beautiful.

Next, I spoke with Grace Ospino, a 21-year-old liberal arts major from Central Islip who is incredibly talented in ceramics. Grace first tried taking ceramics in high school, but really found her passion after taking a course at Suffolk last semester. I had the privilege of watching her make the gothic vase now on display in the Southampton Building (pictured). The vase took about two weeks to complete, with Grace spending hours in the studio working on the bat alone. Her favorite part about working in ceramics, she says, is seeing her hard work come to life.

The last classmate I spoke to was Evan Cook from my Communications class. He’s a 19-year-old cybersecurity major and a unicyclist. Evan has been unicycling for around two years now. He explained that it took him about two months to get acclimated, but now he can go as far as half a mile. What impressed me most was the balance it requires. A unicycle has no handlebars, so you are essentially sitting on a wheel. It’s quite impressive. Evan also credited unicycling to making him happier and giving him something fun to look forward to.

Talking to these classmates introduced me to some incredibly talented people. There are so many out there with amazing skills that you might never know about until you ask. So next time you’re sitting at your desk, take a moment to introduce yourself to your classmates. You never know who you might be sitting next to.