University #2: Welcome to O-Week!
Welcome to O-Week, your introduction to the next few years of your life. As you stroll down the lanes of stalls packed to the brim full of tee shirts, free lollies and your enthusiastic cohort, you’ll catch a glimpse of the awesome potential that student life holds for your time at uni and your life after school.
Meet like-minded individuals
The truth is, most people enter uni separate from their high school friends and find they have a lot of time to spend by themselves. What better opportunity to meet people than in an environment where people eagerly invite you to join in even their geekiest interests? You’ll find yourself dropping by the Chocolate Lovers Society, having a chat with the guys at the Ultimate Frisbee tent and having a peek in at the DarcySoc tent where already they’re planning an introductory high tea. Even if at first you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of societies, the cost to join is minimal and is usually a good swap for all the future beer drinking and lunching you’re going to be doing with some cool people during the year. Feel free to join whatever takes your fancy, have a chat with your future-friends and make some time in your schedule to pop by your on-campus or closest watering hole to sit down and have a casual laugh with people.
Build your professional network
While it may be a little early in the scheme of things to think of networking as a serious business, O Week is a great time to meet some of the seriously passionate people on campus. Clubs like the Media and Communications Society will never lead you astray as you venture into your interning years, and the Debate Society will help you explore your skills as an orator - you never know who you’ll meet and what help they’ll be to you in the future. Check out some of the alumni of your university - there’s a good chance they were once the presidents and treasurers of a society. So go on, sidle up to that KRudd look alike. You never know where it’ll take you.
A chance to explore
O-Week is a great time to become acquainted with your university. You’ll never see as many people congregating in the same places as you do during O-Week and exam time. There’s a smaller chance of getting lost in a secret toilet and hammering away for an entire hour during tute and lecture time. There’ll be loads of chipper students more than willing to direct you towards ATMs, the best coffee cart or that obscure N653 room in that building you don’t see on the map. Take this opportunity to wander round, ask lots of questions and find out where you’re going so you turn up on time to your first lecture feeling totally cool.
And finally,
Make sure you attend at least one after-hours event. Even if you’re a total wallflower and don’t spot anyone you’ve met through out the day, grab a society-subsidised beer and simply observe the student life around you. It’s not all hanging out at bars drinking and playing pool, sitting on the lawns knitting and practicing chinese, but this stuff does go on. It just takes a little courage to step forward and find the cool stuff that goes on at uni between your classes. O-Week is when everyone peacocks about and ruffles their feathers in your face. Welcome to university, you’ll love it.
Stephanie is a third-year Media and Communications student. O-Week is still cool, man.
Meet like-minded individuals
The truth is, most people enter uni separate from their high school friends and find they have a lot of time to spend by themselves. What better opportunity to meet people than in an environment where people eagerly invite you to join in even their geekiest interests? You’ll find yourself dropping by the Chocolate Lovers Society, having a chat with the guys at the Ultimate Frisbee tent and having a peek in at the DarcySoc tent where already they’re planning an introductory high tea. Even if at first you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of societies, the cost to join is minimal and is usually a good swap for all the future beer drinking and lunching you’re going to be doing with some cool people during the year. Feel free to join whatever takes your fancy, have a chat with your future-friends and make some time in your schedule to pop by your on-campus or closest watering hole to sit down and have a casual laugh with people.
Build your professional network
While it may be a little early in the scheme of things to think of networking as a serious business, O Week is a great time to meet some of the seriously passionate people on campus. Clubs like the Media and Communications Society will never lead you astray as you venture into your interning years, and the Debate Society will help you explore your skills as an orator - you never know who you’ll meet and what help they’ll be to you in the future. Check out some of the alumni of your university - there’s a good chance they were once the presidents and treasurers of a society. So go on, sidle up to that KRudd look alike. You never know where it’ll take you.
A chance to explore
O-Week is a great time to become acquainted with your university. You’ll never see as many people congregating in the same places as you do during O-Week and exam time. There’s a smaller chance of getting lost in a secret toilet and hammering away for an entire hour during tute and lecture time. There’ll be loads of chipper students more than willing to direct you towards ATMs, the best coffee cart or that obscure N653 room in that building you don’t see on the map. Take this opportunity to wander round, ask lots of questions and find out where you’re going so you turn up on time to your first lecture feeling totally cool.
And finally,
Make sure you attend at least one after-hours event. Even if you’re a total wallflower and don’t spot anyone you’ve met through out the day, grab a society-subsidised beer and simply observe the student life around you. It’s not all hanging out at bars drinking and playing pool, sitting on the lawns knitting and practicing chinese, but this stuff does go on. It just takes a little courage to step forward and find the cool stuff that goes on at uni between your classes. O-Week is when everyone peacocks about and ruffles their feathers in your face. Welcome to university, you’ll love it.
Stephanie is a third-year Media and Communications student. O-Week is still cool, man.