Spring is a season of fresh new beginnings and excitement. With the new spring semester beginning, SNU members returned to campus from their winter holidays and began to welcome the new batch of freshmen joining the university community from the beginning of March. Various welcome events were planned, including university-wide celebrations and those organized by specific departments. These events aimed to introduce students to the elements of the university experience as well as help them create bonds with other incoming freshmen and current students.
Mentors of the 2023 Freshmen University are welcoming freshmen.
One of the biggest events held for freshmen was Freshmen University, organized by the Division of Student Service. The main aim of Freshmen University is to provide freshmen with general information about SNU and an opportunity to learn more about the university experience. It is led by mentors who are current SNU students, selected based on their involvement within various aspects of university life. Together, the mentors plan ice-breaking activities that allow new students to become more comfortable with one another. The same event was offered for three days to accommodate as many participants as possible.
The event started off with a session on human rights and gender equality, followed by a short lecture by the Academic Advising Center. The freshmen were then arranged into groups and assigned mentors. After a brief ice-breaking session within the groups, the students engaged in the Team Power Program, an activity where students toured the campus and earned points by completing missions at selected locations. The students then regrouped at the University Cultural Center to watch performances by various student organizations and celebrity performances. The day-long event ended with a welcoming ceremony for the new students and an awards ceremony for the Team Power Program.
Team Power Program ‘Blind walking’
Starting at 9 a.m. and finishing at 6 p.m., Freshmen University requires a lot of stamina. For most of the freshmen attending, however, the event was an educational as well as encouraging experience that helped relieve the various fears that they held about starting university. One student commented that before participating in Freshmen University, she was anxious because she didn’t know how to sign up for classes or where to find help. After participating in the program, however, some of that anxiety was relieved and transformed into excitement about the new beginnings ahead. “I felt more assured about starting school and relieved that I would not be starting entirely from scratch,” said Gahyun Choi, a freshman of the Department of Chemistry Education.
Mentor Participants the Day of Freshmen University
Freshmen University was not only a memorable experience for incoming freshmen but also for the mentors that helped run the program. “I felt my hard work paid off when I received thank you messages from my mentees after the event,” said Son Yeji, a mentor from the Department of Anthropology. Although she had not participated as a mentee in the program when she was a freshman, she signed up as a mentor because she had heard that the event was really entertaining and people were able to create new, lasting friendships. “I was proud to be a part of the freshmen's valuable experience at the event.”
While Freshmen University provided general information about the university, Freshmen Learning Center was a program that was more college-specific. Freshmen Learning Center is a program arranged by the student council of each college. The various departments of each college come together to plan a program that would provide useful information and resources for adjusting to student life. Different from Freshmen University, participation was open to current students as well. Most learning center programs were three days long and took place off-campus.
Although the specific programs varied between the colleges, every learning center had performances by student organizations and recreational activities to create camaraderie among department members. Activities ranged from dodgeball to charades, and with group members changing with each game, students were able to interact with a wide range of their peers.
The College of Engineering’s Freshmen Learning Center
This year’s learning centers returned to their original form of three-day excursions, after being limited to one-day events since 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. “Because everybody who had previously planned the three-day learning centers had graduated, we really had to start from scratch,” said Seon-ho Park, who was in charge of the learning center for the College of Engineering. “Although this initially created some difficulties, it also meant that we were free to plan whatever we wanted. This freedom allowed us to create a program that was more tailored to the students’ needs.” Around 850 students participated in the College of Engineering’s learning center and a satisfaction survey after the program affirmed that most of the participants were pleased with the program.
With new students joining the SNU community each year, first-year orientation events help ease the transition from high school to university. With COVID-19 restrictions finally easing, 2023 marked the return of full-scale orientation programs, a part of the university experience that future SNU members can look forward to.
Written by Yeryoung Lee, SNU English Editor, yeryounglee@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr