International Studies Welcomes around 500 New Students
On the 29th and 30th of August, first years had their first taste of what student life is like at Leiden University at the International Studies Introduction Days. In a brand-new environment, surrounded by strangers, these students came together to learn about each other and eager to commence with their program.
Article by 2nd year student Beatrice Somova
Nervous energy filled the air on the 29th of August as the first-year students slowly filled the Wijnhaven hallways. The loud chatter made it almost impossible to hear everyone introducing themselves. After making sure everyone was present and gifted with a tote bag and colourful water bottle, the student’s experienced their first assembly in the imposing lecture room with about 500 other students. After receiving this helpful introduction into academia, the first years were led away into their mentor groups to process everything and to get to know the strangers that would be in their classes for the next semester.
While initially it may have been daunting for the new students to open up, students became gradually more talkative and felt less like outsiders. The games played may have seen childish at first, for activities such as passing a clap is not a way adults tend to pass the time, but the more ridiculous the activity was, the closer the students felt with their mentor group.
By the time lunch rolled around, mentors started to notice that they were not needed to guide conversation. “I loved them; They got along so well I barely had to do anything,” says mentor Kirsten Dijkstra. For the rest of the day students enjoyed activities such as a tour of the Hague, where critical information was divulged such as where the best spring rolls can be found and locations of university campuses as well as participating in an improvisational theatre performance. Needless to say, the students were tired out from such an activity filled day but were ready to come in the next day.
On the 30th of August, the first-year students had more exciting pursuits to undertake. Meeting a tutor and having a experiencing a tutorial followed by an in-depth explanation of how to use various websites to find the syllabuses, locate sources and how to confirm enrolment for exams were all necessary activities to help guide these people into becoming prepared students. But there is more to student life than just studying and so, there was a BASIS fair to get acquainted with the student association and more students. These two days allowed for these strangers to prepare themselves and be ready to start their first-year students of International Studies at Leiden University.
