What Welcome Week taught me

Photo from Silhouette Photo Archives

By Kian Yousefi Kousha

All through summer, I was thinking about my transition to McMaster University. I thought about meeting people, finding friends, learning lessons and getting advice. Welcome Week painted all of my thoughts with a colour of reality. It started with hearing customized chants in the move-in day and it ended with jumping up and down at Majid Jordan’s concert.

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Between the start and the end, there was lots of middle, which were filled with valuable lessons. With that said, Welcome Week would not be alive without its empathetic, energetic and earnest representatives who were the authors of those valuable lessons. For instance, most of them highlighted the significance of getting involved with the McMaster community. On the other hand, I was told that being a student should always be my first priority during my time at university. In addition, the sessions held by the Student Success Centre taught me that asking for help does not signify weakness. Moreover, it was mentioned that students ought to use all the resources available so that they can get the most out of their time at McMaster University.

To name a few, I was introduced to the Student Wellness Centre and the Student Health Education Centre, which their main purpose is to become an oasis for students during any physical or mental illnesses.

Some outdoor yoga for the last weeks of summer! 🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️ https://t.co/ZvLzKYYBMd

— Student Wellness (@McMasterSWC) September 4, 2018

Equally important, I believe that Welcome Week was the most successful in helping students like me to feel less homesick. As an only child, I could never imagine that I would feel welcome in any other place except my own home. Nevertheless, Welcome Week taught me and all of its participants that home is not a place. It is a feeling that stems from love, friendship and respect. This happened through a myriad of icebreaker events such as Mac connector and Faculty Fusion, which created a sense of belonging between the first years as they felt a part of the 2022 family.

After all, classes have started and all first years have officially become a Marauder. The events of Welcome Week have most certainly prepared students for their first year and eased their transition from their high school or home country to McMaster University. Now it is the time for the students to utilize their learned lessons as a means to success so that we all can proudly say: one, we are from Mac, two, a little bit louder, three, I still can’t hear you, four more more more.
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