I'm definitely not one for meeting new people, but what works for me is not having holes in your first conversation. Like, ask him/her the normal questions, but don't go too personal. At the beginning, just find some things you both like and focus on those for now.

Be excited and pleasant. Y'all don't need to be best friends, but at the least you need to tolerate each other in a friendly manner. My freshman roommate and I didn't really have mutual friends, studied different subjects, and were VERY different people, despite that, we'd eat together, talk to each other and had an amicable, albeit surface level friendship.

Thank you both for the advice. I'm on my way now and I'm still in freak out mode, but I think I'm doing better.

Good luck!