This weekend, I was volunteering as a freshers angel on Campus and in this blog I want to talk all about how the experience was like. This weekend was the welcome week and thousands of students started moving in on campus. I was working in Stag Hill Campus, on Surrey Court. The day before the moving in, we had a brief training about being a freshers angel! The energy of the room was very high and everyone was very friendly with smiling faces! After the training, we went to Rubix to learn Fresher’s Angels Dance. It was very motivating to be in a place full of energy and like-minded fellow students. After the dance, we went to Harris Bar, which is a bar in Rubix run by students union, to do arts&crafts. We were given lots of colourful markers and big cartoons to make welcome signs for freshers and their families. The atmosphere was like a bunch of grown-ups in kindergarten, everyone painting a piece of paper. My sign was “Free Hug” and it made everyone approach me with the warmest smiles on their faces next day. I also helped some people draw a stag and correct misspelling on other signs. It was like a therapy for all of us, a distraction from adulthood. During the weekend, we were assigned to different courts and houses and we were responsible for directing traffic, making sure everyone moves the belongings out of their cars quickly so other cars can park. Usually, you have to buy a parking permit to be able to park on campus but on the moving in day, you are given 20 minutes of free parking in front of your building and the rest of the day, you can use the main parking on campus for free. As you have to be quick, we, as angel, we there to help. The thing that challenged me the most was the emptying a mini van and carrying all the stuff in the van to the 4th floor (including weights for home workout, now I can flex that I carried 24 kgs of dumbbells to the 4th floor). After that, with loads of people coming, I have to walk them to their rooms and building, also carrying their belongings. My best friend was also moving in on campus and I ran to help him with his stuff too as well as see his new accommodation. At the end of the day, I was literally so exhausted but the smiles on freshers’ faces and their families as well as the looks of gratitudes was all worth it! The fact that you are the first people that the freshers meet and give them an unforgettable experience fills your heart with so much love and happiness. Helping people when they need it the most is also a very indescribable feeling. If you decide to come to Surrey, I highly advise volunteering as a freshers angel as you will be left with unforgettable memories as well as make new friends! It is also very good for improving your soft skills such as team work and confidence.
Till next time,
XOXO,
Cemsu
