By Jack Freedman, Staff Writer

(left to right)Eve Marie, Ashley Trapp, Tayten Trahan, and three other students are all friends from their Cru Group and pose together after UMHB’s Stunt Night on Friday, Oct. 17,  2025  Courtesy photo

When freshmen arrive at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, their initial friend group is often made up of their Cru group, a group of other students with similar majors. But as the months and years go on, Cru groups often break up as students find their own friends, many times with little to no members of the original group. However, there are a few UMHB students who are an exception to this trend.

“My Cru group and I have kept in communication for over a year now,” Holly Carr, a sophomore, said. “The majority of our messages are wishing each other happy birthday, requesting prayer, or inviting each other to campus events. They’ve made the adjustment period of settling into UMHB much easier, and I still feel their support and love over a year later.”

Although Cru group pairings are based solely on majors, there are some random occasions where they manage to match personalities. This can range from just a few members to nearly the entire group.

“All of us are roommates with someone in the group,” Kaitlyn Slate, a sophomore, said.

Like with many friend groups, long-term Cru groups often dismantle for a number of reasons. Sometimes members graduate early, or other times they move to another campus.

“[I’m still friends with] a couple of people, but the numbers keep dwindling down each year,” Liam Bryant, a senior said. “I only know four or five members of the original 13. People graduate or just stop being friends.”

Despite the dwindling group members, many of these students try to help each other through college.

“We study and help each other with homework, but only three of us are left,” Josh Kurtenbach, a senior, said.

Even after members of a Cru group graduate or transfer to other colleges, many of them still make efforts to keep in touch with their other members through various methods.

“Most of [my Cru group] transferred, but we still try to keep in touch,” Jesse Bassat, a senior, said. “We occasionally call or message each other.”