September 24, 2015, by International students

Welcome to #UoNFreshers!

Vicky Torrillas is an exchange student from Luther College, Iowa, USA, starting a year in Nottingham’s School of Politics and International Relations.

Welcome to #UoNFreshers!

Have you been around our campuses this week? Freshers Week kicked off on Monday and has been going strong ever since. When I arrived around 10-ish to campus on Monday, I was immediately greeted by a student offering me free pizza (and discounts), then by several societies who wanted to interact and explain to my roommate and I what they do on a weekly basis, and lastly by the friendly campus tourers that show people around campus this week. Despite a rainy beginning (as an international student, I have to admit the rain really took me aback and I was definitely not as prepared for it as I should’ve been), the weather has collaborated with the student activities fair that is set outside, and has allowed people like me to sit outside and eat our lunch under the sun.

Outdoor Welcome Festival activities near Nottingham New Theatre, University Park

If you’re a new student to Nottingham, Freshers Week offers you most of what you need in one place: you can open a bank account and grab lunch without having to go home or downtown. You can also meet with like-minded people within active societies, develop skills to apply in the workspace and register for all the classes that you want or need for your degree. If you’re more of a social person, you can listen to some live performances, play some games and win prizes, and receive some freebies from the societies. If you’re looking to join a sports team or even practice a sport for fun, UoN helps you find your perfect match as well! Since Wednesday, the sports teams and societies have been in the sports centre, waiting to talk to people and give you a taste of what they do, when they practise and the skills that they require for you to join (fear not, most have beginner, intermediate and advanced).

Student society stalls at the Welcome Festival

Student society stalls at the Welcome Festival

Since Freshers started, I feel like I’ve gone to so many events and got to talk to several societies and sports teams. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to have lunch with Nightline and Student Minds. They offered different kinds of sandwiches, and had some snacks as well. My favourite part, however, was the crafts table. You could sit, and make a door tag for your room. I’m not particularly crafty, but everyone on the table was very encouraging and nice, so it made it so much more fun than it would’ve been if it was just me doing crafts.

Crafts table with Nottingham Nightline and Student Minds

On Wednesday, I was able to talk to several of the sports teams who invited my friends and I to go to their taster sessions, and I also got to connect with some people who have travelled abroad to South America and were interested in practising their Spanish and listening to my experience here. Nottingham students are so passionate about what they do that is easy to get lost in conversation with people here. I know now that coming to Nottingham really was meant to be, and I can’t wait to fully begin my life as a Nottingham student in October. But hey, what about you? What did you do during Freshers Week? Let us know!

You can also read Vicky’s previous blog posts on looking forward to Nottingham and our Welcome Programme.

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