What a whirlwind of a fortnight! Freshers, I hope you had the time of your lives, because it’s been a rollercoaster of ups and downs to make the fortnight happen. It has been both the most exhausting and rewarding two weeks so I thought I’d let you take a peak behind the curtain, and see what it’s like on the organising side of Freshers’.

As a third year and completely new to SU, there were plenty of moments when I doubted myself, thinking I had done something wrong. At first, that made me hesitant to stand by my decisions when more experienced SU members disgreed with me, but somewhere along the way, I realised that being new didn’t mean I had nothing to bring to the table. I have experience, I know what I want Freshers’ to be, and I just had to trust my judgement. Learning when to take advice, and when to back myself, has probably been one of the biggest lessons of the fortnight.

Now that it’s over, I can comfortably say that most events actually ran rather smoothly, without jinxing anything. There were some last-minute changes, logistical nightmares, and difficult decisions, but my event-planning philosophy has always been to plan only 90% of the event, and the last 10% on the day.

I could not have done this without my team, a massive thank you to the rest of SU and my lovely Fresher Buddies! Fortunately for you, there is only one of me, and I cannot be everywhere at once, so while I was inevitably running around dealing with one problem, there was always someone somewhere else quietly preventing another. Whether it was answering questions, herding freshers, teaching people to ice-skate, or being an extra set of hands, you kept the fortnight moving.

Despite everything, we made it to the chequered flag. Seeing you all throw yourselves into ICSM, make new friends, and come together as a community makes all the sleep-deprivation worth it. I’m incredibly proud of what we pulled off, incredibly grateful to all who made it happen, and incredibly ready to sleep for the next term.

Freshers, it’s been an absolute privilege to start your ICSM journey with you. Freshers’ may be over, but your time at ICSM is only just beginning; I can’t wait to see what you do with it.

Lots of ICSM love,

Rachel – Your Entertainments’ Chair