This month’s Kent Stars are our wonderful student helpers who gave up their time over Arrivals Weekend so they could welcome our new international students at Gatwick and Heathrow airports. Working with the Global and Lifelong Learning team, they welcomed 250 students and helped them and their luggage onto 13 coaches and 8 taxis to get to our campuses! Hear from one of our student helpers, Thomas:
“My name is Thomas, a 4th year Politics and International Relations student who has just recently finished my Year Abroad in Tokyo. I am really interested in international politics and contemporary history and have been since I was young, therefore, I am really glad to have chosen this course at Kent.”
Tell us about your experience welcoming new students at the airport over Arrivals Weekend.
“Welcoming international students has always been something that I wanted to do for a long time given I am also an international student myself. I can completely understand the mixed emotions new students might have when they first arrive in the UK, the excitement of being in a fresh environment, but also the worries or fear of not getting used to it. Therefore, the role we played during the Arrivals Weekend was very important. We were the first people the students would have talked to, and we did our best to make sure they were as comfortable as they could possibly be.”
What advice would you give to other students?
“My advice to all the international students would be a quote that I hold very dear to myself, ‘don’t be afraid to fail, you can’t always win, but don’t be afraid to make the decision’. The key message here is that you have to be openminded and brave, be ready to try new things, explore everything around you as much as possible because while you are still hesitating, time will fly by silently and cruelly.”
What are your plans for the next year?
“I am graduating next summer, so I am fully aware time is not necessarily on my side. Ideally, I would like to find myself a job in London or anywhere in the UK and stay in this country for a few more years. I might go to study another language if I have time, because I always believe language is the carrier and key of a culture, being able to speak and understand another language would open a new door in life for you to explore a whole new world.”
Do you know an inspirational student or student group? Let us know.