Student Life team ready to bring fun to ‘Freshies’
Interested in free food, good vibes and fun opportunities? The Ara Institute of Canterbury | Te Pūkenga “Freshies” is underway bringing with it a series of events open to everyone... even if you’re not a fresher.
From shindigs and making your own wellbeing packs to the great Carnival Day, Angus Howat Ara’s Manager of the Student Life team promises Freshies 2023 will have events “designed to welcome our new students onto campus and help orientate them to what it is that student life is like here”.
With at least 25 events in the planning across the Woolston, City, Manawa and Timaru campuses, Howat hopes they will help students feel connected.
“It can be pretty intimidating and isolating when you first start your course especially if it’s super busy. Freshies is all about welcoming people here to Ara and give them the opportunity to figure out what is going on, who they can talk to and who they can meet,” says Howat.
Freshies has certainly grown in recent years. Initially a series of chill events put together by a small team, it has expanded into a month-long student orientation festival. The Student Life team behind it has grown too with six team members and 40 student casuals all bringing their strengths to a range of roles from wellbeing to being the voice of students.
“Part of what makes the team so talented is their confidence to build connections quickly with people. They can get to know and get comfortable with any person that might walk across any event we might be running,” says Howat.
As he prepares to hand over the role after four and a half years with Ara, Howat says seeing that in action has been a highlight.
“Some of my exciting moments leading the team have been from watching people just in their element doing that doing what they do well. And then anytime we get to do some sort of large-scale event and we have 1000s of people come by and have a good time with us. That's always a highlight,” says Howat.
Big or small this year, Freshies events are focused around Whanaungatanga, building connections and relationships -with the perfect combination free food, fun, and live music.
Helping Ara students discover there’s more to student life than classes and study.