Our Fresher’s Experience
Hey guys! In this post, Linda, Sude and I all discuss our individual Freshers experience at the University of Westminster. Freshers is a new and exciting environment where you have the opportunity to get your bearings around the university, meet people from your course and get to know your tutors and lecturers. Despite most Freshers being online this year, It can still be a nerve racking but exciting experience, so we wanted to share ours with you.
Elif’s Freshers Experience:
Heya, it’s Elif here and I'm first to talk about my Freshers journey. For us, Freshers lasted one week in mid-September and we were led in small groups by something that we call FANS. This is an annual scheme within the university where they recruit students to guide the newcomers around the university. They organise social activities which allow for students to get to know each other and be there for help. This was really helpful as it made me comfortable knowing that I could go to someone if I needed help getting around or if I had any questions.
The first day was probably the most stressful for me as I went to enroll and pick up my ID, I was standing alone whilst many people were with relatives or friends they had already made. After this I went to meet a group of people that I met on my courses WhatsApp group, at Regents Park. The WhatsApp group chat had been created a week before Freshers started and this played a part in my Freshers experience. Despite being confusing at times with the 100+ participants, it was nice to meet people beforehand and get to gage an idea of who I would get along with. It was definitely a mission to match the name to a face when we met on the first day of Freshers though! A handful of us had decided to meet on the first day, which was nice as everyone was friendly and this is where I made my first proper mate, Linda! The first day consisted of us attending a compulsory talk by the course leader and student union representative and a lunch with all the new people I had met on the groupchat. The second day was a lot different as that’s when I met Sude. She had messaged me at the end of the first day asking if I wanted to meet up with her so we could spend the day going around the university together. We immediately got on really well and I’m lucky enough to say that within the first 2 days of Freshers, I had already met my closest uni friends. We made the perfect trio really :)
Being friendly with everyone and making friends that had similar interests and values as me that quickly, really helped me become more comfortable as we spent the whole week meeting other people together, attending necessary talks and of course going to social setups together. For example one of the activities that the FANS had set up was a picnic motive at Regents Park. This was initially open to just architecture students but then quite quickly became a gathering of people from a range of courses. As someone who doesn't drink or go clubbing, it was nice to have the opportunity to socialise with others. That week I also attended a Freshers fair which was overwhelming but definitely a good experience as I had the opportunity to talk to some teams and societies, that I definity signed up for underestimating the lack of free time I would have. Overall, I had a positive Freshers experience where I had the opportunity to socialise in environments I'm comfortable in, with people that I enjoyed spending time with.
Linda’s Freshers Experience:
Freshers set the tone for my first-year. I met the people who would surround me during the course of my studies and familiarised myself with my university. I’ll take you through what I experienced during this interesting week at university.
Stepping out of Baker Street Underground Station, I felt an overwhelming sensation of anxiety as I approached campus. The crowd of students huddled at the entrance was intimidating; I wasn’t mentally ready to go in yet. So I made my way to the Garden of Rest by St. Marylebone Parish Church down the road - a kind of sanctuary for me that comforted me before my interview, and calmed down. Obviously I couldn’t stay there forever; eventually I returned back to the building to enrol and get my ID card. Afterwards, I made my way to Regent’s Park to gather and socialise with my year group. The crowd became bigger and bigger as lunch neared by. This was the spot where I met Elif, who would remain one of my closest friends for the rest of the year.
I met the FANS (Friends of Arriving New Students) for my course, who would guide us for the rest of the week and keep in touch with us on a WhatsApp group chat, posting architectural challenges like ‘guess this building’ or the name of an architect each morning. It was nice to feel connected to the students in second and third year; it eliminated the ‘barrier’ between younger and older students on our architecture course. The next day, we had ‘introductory lectures’ by some university representatives and our lecturers. We also got to meet our tutors in the afternoon. I remember the whole cohort of us first years standing on the bottom double-heighted space on the 4th floor, looking up unknowingly at the tutors who presented themselves and welcomed us from the fifth floor balconies.
A mid-week walk around London brought me away from the BA Architecture students and closer to the BSc students I had only had limited interactions with at the start of the week. We spent the whole day exploring our city; our course leader acting as a tour guide and giving us an inspiring and informative commentary on the architectural features abundant around us. Every moment was valuable with my course tutors; I was constantly learning something no matter which turn discussions took.
Although I didn’t really engage much with the Arrivals Fair at the end of the week, I attended a picnic on Thursday organised by the FANs. The weather was great, so we headed to Regent’s Park, equipped with snacks and drinks, and got to socialise in our newly founded groups as well as with people we hadn’t spoken to yet. I remember playing ‘Splat’ with some people who the FANs convinced to participate, and making the most of my last moments in a stress-free environment before a jam-packed semester of hard-work would take over my life.
As someone who commuted to university, and who doesn’t go out partying or clubbing, I knew I wanted to find something to do during Freshers that was compatible with my night-life free lifestyle. The FANs had advertised an outdoor activity centre in Cockfosters, so I invited a newly made friend to spend the Saturday making our way through a tree-top obstacle course that definitely mentally challenged me. (FYI: I’m not scared of heights, I have a fear of falling). It was a great way to end the week.
P.S. if you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned Sude, it’s because I only remember officially meeting her during our first week of class!
Sude’s Freshers Experience:
Hello everyone! It’s Sude.
Alright. I’m up next. Honestly, I didn’t remember Freshers as well as the others so I had to have a quick time-travel back to what happened. My initial emotions entering the university on the first day was pure excitement. I think Linda and Elif can agree that I'm a pretty social person and Freshers week is an amazing place to make friends. I was alone too when I picked up my ID but it was okay, no biggie.
So I didn’t meet the girls on the first day. I was unaware of the meet up at the park and met with 2 people from the Year 1 Architecture WhatsApp group chat at our campus. I spent my day walking around Regents Park and Baker’s Street. I got to know the 2 girls and it turned out that they were both international students so it was nice to give them a little mini tour of the area.
The way I met Linda and Elif was a mess in my opinion. Me and the 2 girls were walking through Regents Park. Since the park was really close to our campus, many other arriving students were also there in their own little bunches. We were walking past a bench which had a handful of people. Little did I know that Linda and Elif were a part of this group. We really debated if we should ask them if they were the Architecture bunch. It was expected to be nervous and shy meeting new people but me being me, I retreated back to the big group and asked if they were architecture students and to my luck, they said they were. Now I don’t remember seeing Linda nor do I remember seeing Elif. I later found out by them that they were also there that day. How embarrassing!
The second day, like Elif mentioned, I opted to meet up with her and we clicked very quickly. I remember having lunch together and some deep conversations for some reason. I think we both realised how much we had in common and I knew very early on that we would get along well.
The rest of the day and the week consisted of information feeding all the newly arriving students. These were done by tutors, lecturers, our Student Union and FANS. There are many opportunities to ask questions and everyone is so helpful so I was comfortable with the new environment pretty quickly.
The day we had the picnic might have been my favourite part of the week. At this point, I had met Linda since we found out that we were in the same design studio. Elif had prompted me to get to know her too since they had already met. We turned out to have many common factors too which led to a great friendship. The FANS had so many fun activities prepared for us to take part in. I remember the SPLAT game. I’d like to take a second and let you guys know that I came second. Very proud about that. We also played Mafia. I have a burning passion for playing games so I was gutted to be voted out in the first round after being accused of being the Mafia when I wasn’t. I still have a strong dislike for the person who convinced everyone that I was the mafia. Overall, It was just a very chill environment full of joy. I think Freshers is a great concept. Whoever came up with it, props to you.
The Freshers fair was a little overwhelming. Loads of stalls trying to convince everyone to take leaflets, have a chat and so on. I got a lot of freebies so I’m not complaining. I did end up signing up to many places and still receive emails from them. I suggest doing this because you never know, they may enter your inbox with something that you may be really interested in. I’ve definitely seen some cool things people would be interested in that these companies offer. I also signed up to many societies although I have to be honest, I didn’t end up taking part in any of the sports societies I signed up to. I really overestimated how much free time I would have once my course started.
All in all that was about it for Freshers, then architecture started and boy… I was not ready.
I think many of us can agree that without Freshers, the majority of students would have a hard time settling into university. Even though this year Freshers will be held online, we still suggest you make the most of it and take part in everything you find interesting, as there's no harm in trying something out. Many universities are coming up with alternatives to make your Freshers more memorable so reciprocating the same amount of enthusiasm will make it much better for everyone.
Good luck to everyone with Freshers and their upcoming year. Make sure to come back to ArchiDabble next week for another post!
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