Hi, I’m Rachel, your Opportunities Officer. Firstly, welcome to Aberystwyth/croeso i Aberystwyth!
The first thing I noticed about moving to Aber was how friendly and sociable the people are. I ended up meeting my housemates for second and third year on my first night out and the rest is history!
There are loads of ways to meet new people and make friends here, but these are my top three:
1. Organise a night in (or night out) with your new housemates!
You’ve all moved to Aberystwyth from around the world, you’re all either going to be buzzing and ready to go out or completely exhausted and just want sleep! Find a point in Freshers Week, or just after, and treat it as a Get To Know You night. You could either embark on a pub crawl together or stay in playing games or watching a film. Whatever you decide together, it’s an amazing way to establish a friendship group early on.
2. Join a sports club or society!
As Opportunities Officer, I’m a bit biased but I truly do think that this is the best way to make long lasting friends. Sports clubs and societies are amazing because you are guaranteed to have at least one thing in common with the other members – your interests! Some people know exactly what clubs and/or societies they want to join when they get to university and some like to fish around for a bit. Both are completely okay! If you would like to test out a group before joining, why not head along to a social or pop along to their freshers’ events? If you would like to have a sneak peek at the sports clubs and societies on offer, head along to TîmAber (www.abersu.co.uk).
3. Go to Freshers Events at the SU!
There are loads of events happening at the SU this Freshers and all are an amazing opportunity to meet new people! As well as entertainment nights like the Big SU Quiz which will kick off Freshers Week with a bang and Bingo Lingo, we also have Meet and Greets for students from similar backgrounds to gather and form communities. These are relaxed and informal sessions where you may just end up chatting for quite a bit! So, if you’re not into going out out, there are still spaces and places for you to meet new people! For more information about all our events, check out Events (ww.abersu.co.uk)
One of my priorities this year is ensuring all students feel a part of a community at Aber, whatever that community may be! If you would like to have a chat about what’s on offer or if you have any questions, you can email me suopportunities@aber.ac.uk and I will be happy to help.
Enjoy!