You can spot them the proverbial-mile-off with their uncertain body language, trying to fade into the background along with that rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights look of theirs.
Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it?
It’s certainly how I feel when dropped into new situations – more than a just little anxious in my new unfamiliar surrounds.
And that’s as it’s likely to be for the bulk of the class of 2015 that will be officially joining us from Saturday 24 January when Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) hosts the Welcoming Ceremony for first-years and their parents.
For 12 years, most of the near-6 000 students who will be joining NMMU, have lived at home and attended the same schools. They’ve grown accustomed to certain routines, people and their environment. They were comfortable.
That’s all about to change – so there’s bound to be anxiety.
The changes are bigger for some than others. The child who attended a high school in Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, and already has siblings at NMMU, for example, is likely to find the shift far less daunting than the matriculant from a rural village in the former Transkei.
But all, regardless of their background, will have some anxieties.
Those anxieties will range from not knowing a soul to finding a place to live; from raising the necessary financial support to not understanding words like “VC”, “DP” and “being an undergraduate”; from the fear of getting lost to that of making new friends; from the worry of not letting your parents down to what to wear to lectures …
We know these worries will fade but they’ll dissipate far sooner with the right support.
NMMU has all sorts of support structures with its How2Buddies, Student Counselling and Campus Health services and the like to ease the process of adapting to a whole new lifestyle, but in my experience, the best support (or lack of support) comes from those we encounter in our daily interactions.
A cheery hello, a smile or an offer of help all go a long way to easing anxieties for newcomers, along with invitations to social events and the presence of other newbies (you are never alone).
So here’s my appeal to those who work and are already studying here … at the very least, please spare a smile for all newcomers.
And to all newcomers, embrace those smiles and other offers of help in making you fill like you belong as a Madibaz because this time next year you’ll be doing the same – you’ll be helping the “rabbits”.
Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it?
It’s certainly how I feel when dropped into new situations – more than a just little anxious in my new unfamiliar surrounds.
And that’s as it’s likely to be for the bulk of the class of 2015 that will be officially joining us from Saturday 24 January when Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) hosts the Welcoming Ceremony for first-years and their parents.
For 12 years, most of the near-6 000 students who will be joining NMMU, have lived at home and attended the same schools. They’ve grown accustomed to certain routines, people and their environment. They were comfortable.
That’s all about to change – so there’s bound to be anxiety.
The changes are bigger for some than others. The child who attended a high school in Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, and already has siblings at NMMU, for example, is likely to find the shift far less daunting than the matriculant from a rural village in the former Transkei.
But all, regardless of their background, will have some anxieties.
Those anxieties will range from not knowing a soul to finding a place to live; from raising the necessary financial support to not understanding words like “VC”, “DP” and “being an undergraduate”; from the fear of getting lost to that of making new friends; from the worry of not letting your parents down to what to wear to lectures …
We know these worries will fade but they’ll dissipate far sooner with the right support.
NMMU has all sorts of support structures with its How2Buddies, Student Counselling and Campus Health services and the like to ease the process of adapting to a whole new lifestyle, but in my experience, the best support (or lack of support) comes from those we encounter in our daily interactions.
A cheery hello, a smile or an offer of help all go a long way to easing anxieties for newcomers, along with invitations to social events and the presence of other newbies (you are never alone).
So here’s my appeal to those who work and are already studying here … at the very least, please spare a smile for all newcomers.
And to all newcomers, embrace those smiles and other offers of help in making you fill like you belong as a Madibaz because this time next year you’ll be doing the same – you’ll be helping the “rabbits”.
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