I can honestly say that this September I experienced
one of the best times of my life and I know that I’m not the only one sharing
this opinion. The reason for it is that I was lucky to be chosen to work as an
assistant during the Orientation Week at Sheffield University. You might wonder
what this week is, so let me tell you about my ‘Orientation Adventure’!
Orientation Week is organised every year just before
Intro Week. It is an initiative of Sheffield University Global Campus and is
designed for new students (with an emphasise on international students) to help
them in settling down, adjusting to the university life and, what I think is
the most fun part, making new friends from all over the world and together with
them taking part in amazing events! It is open not only for freshers but also
for exchange, Erasmus and postgraduate students.
Last year I was that lost fresher coming to study in
the UK form abroad and not knowing much about what was to come. As soon as I
heard about Orientation Week, I didn’t hesitate, I signed up for it and made
the best of this programme. Since I met so made many great friends (that I am
in still in touch with!) and as it helped me so much in finding my way around
Sheffield, I knew already that I want to be a part of this amazing initiative
the following year. Hence, at the beginning of this year I applied to be an
Orientation Assistant and after a while I received an information that I was
successful!
After
months of waiting, September did finally come and so did Orientation! I was working
in amazing team of 40 ‘orange people’ (have a look at the pictures and you’ll
know why we’re called like this) and our main task was to help people make new
friends and enjoy different events and basically feel like at home. Over 1000
students from over 85 countries took part in the week so it was a very
challenging task but happily it all went well! The orientation programme was
very intensive and students could attend all the events every day from 9am even
till midnight! There were a few events that were taking place every day, as
some students arrived later during the week and we didn’t want anyone to miss
them. These included interesting talks on important things like opening UK bank
account, services available to students, health service or breaking through the
culture barrier. We also ran Icebreakers activities every day and they were a
fantastic way to help people in making new friends! Actually, last year on the
first Icebreakers I met 3 amazing people together with I spend majority of
Orientation Week and I’m still very good friends with them, so it really works!
Another great opportunity to make friends were themed Cafés for people living in
the same accommodation or studying at the same department. Thanks to these
students could have a chat, coffee, cake and meet people they had something in
common with and sometimes even their coursmates or flatmates! One of them was
an Engineering Café which was very busy as many new engineering students came
to meet others. As an engineering student I could share my experience at the
UoS and tell them what it is like from my perspective. Also a few other IEAs supported
us in this event so we had a chance to introduce the new students to the
engineering world at our university. Also students could explore the campus
during campus tours or visit university buildings like the Students Union, Information
Commons or The Diamond and familiarize themselves with location of their
department buildings, libraries or services like University Health Service. In
addition to the events run on regular basis, there were special one-time events
like a trip to Chatsworth House, Welcome BBQ, Karaoke, Quiz Night, Games and Crafts,
Afternoon Tea or Taste of Britain where students had an opportunity to taste British
pies and give a go to Ceilidh, a Scottish folk dance. The last event was
Welcome Reception party with a bit formal part at the beginning and 
Even though it’s already been a
few weeks since Orientation I still feel the energy all the students shared
with me. It was an incredible feeling to see people making friends, opening
themselves and getting more and more confident. There is nothing more precious and
more rewarding than seeing a smile on people’s faces and hearing them thanking
you for help. These simple things were the best driving force to make this week
the best and memorable experience for every participant. If you’re about to
start studying at the University of Sheffield but you’re unsure about finding
your way here, making friends or you’re scared of the culture barrier, no
matter where you are from, I’d really like encourage you to come and participate
in the orientation week. There’s something for everyone here and it is an
incredible opportunity to meet people who are in exact same situation as you,
face similar problems and those who want to make your start to Sheffield
adventure as good as possible.
If you have any questions about
the Orientation Week, feel free to contact me! (|megrzybek1@sheffield.ac.uk)
For more pictures visit: https://www.facebook.com/sheffieldglobalcampus/photos/?tab=album&album_id=735402666602385
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