Induction week | Cherishing the past and looking forward – Shenzhen College of International Education

Summer is a season of revival. Before the ‘elders’ return, an enormous group of new students is about to arrive!

I still remember how I felt when I first stepped into SCIE: excited, proud, nervous, expectant, and fearful. For a whole year, these emotions were kept in my heart until the day that new students arrived.

As for the new students, did your heart drop a beat when you saw the welcome from the seniors? Did you think these people were so cool and impressive? Did you feel a bit nervous when stepping onto campus, despite all the preparations you made?

In fact, we were more nervous than you, but the smiles on our faces made us look more professional. Otherwise, we would have been noisier than you.

Week 0 seen by new students is vastly different from that seen by the organizers. After experiencing this chaotic yet organized week, you might be curious about how such a massive event was organized, aside from the teachers’ efforts.

So today, let’s talk about the people behind Week 0.

Long before the summer vacation began, the SLB (Student Leadership Body) had already started preparing for this event. Besides the offer, the first thing you saw was the “Survival Guide” produced by various SLB departments. It’s designed to help you get through the scariest week.

The articles on the official account might look glamorous and fancy, but they were a nightmare to many of the writers.

We feared being too dull and too casual, so every word in the articles was carefully considered, much like how you were cautious when writing your first email to a teacher in English.

Fortunately, a dull 50-page document was brought to life by the Art Club MUSE and CM (Communication and Media), presenting it to you in an engaging way.

Though the two-month vacation was long, time flew by in anticipation. During this period, we continuously improved our plans, determined to plan the most memorable week in your life.

From the moment you stepped onto the campus, time froze again, and every moment became worth recalling. A new journey in life began this summer.

Meetings, sharing, presentations, taking photos, introducing ourselves, meetings again… This might be a summerise of the first day, but Week 0 was far more than that.

Ice-breaking activities were as usual. At first, there might have been some awkwardness, and you might have felt a bit lost and started to observe the actions of those around you.

Once you got familiar, some discovered their extroverted nature, some retreated to the corners, and some wanted to talk to classmates but hesitated to speak.

In the Halo theatre, the teachers’ speeches might have inspired you, turning expectations into motivation, while the experiences of seniors opened the door to a new world.

Perhaps the most important event among the many activities was the “Option Fair.” Choosing courses is always complicated. You might want to experience every subject but fear your GPA.

To ease your anxiety, the SLB brought in experts in various subjects to explain their experiences. If their words brought you clarity, then our goal was achieved.

In the eyes of new students, the theatre holds a special place. Here, you heard the experiences of past seniors, got to know the SLB students, learned about the achievements of the school’s MUN (Model United Nations) club, and set goals for yourself. From the moment you received your school uniform on Wednesday, we hope that a sense of pride as an SCIE student welled up.

As Week 0 came to a close, the initial lightheartedness quietly slipped away, replaced by the tasks of buying books, medical check-ups, CAT4 tests, and filling out various forms.

The tasks that had to be completed independently were always overwhelming. The answers you filled in during the CAT4 test reflected signs of growth, and the nervous yet determined mindset represented your transformation.

Sometimes, the lectures on time management might have seemed dull, but every word was true, laying the foundation for your future. To new students, you might feel nervous, just as we did back then, always feeling like you can’t keep up with others. But you don’t need to worry too much about the present or the future; enjoying the process is the treasure that life gives us. Do what makes you happy and be with people who make you laugh, and these four years won’t be nothing. This week may have been tiring, but in the eyes of the SLB seniors, it will always turn into a compliment: “Better than I expected,” or a sigh, “Compared to us, they’re really quiet.” Everything is cyclical. Last summer, this school welcomed us, and this year, it welcomes you, lively and cheerful. May every photo you take here become a future memory worth crying and laughing over.

For the SLB members reading this article, when looking back at this week years later, please remember it as precious.Whether it’s the countless meetings, the late-night debriefs, or mountains of event materials, as long as it brought smiles, it was all worth it.

So, thank you to all the new students, volunteers, and teachers. Your collective efforts have brought Week 0 of the SCIE 2024-2025 school year to a perfect conclusion. We will carry this perfection as we embark on the journey of the new year. Let us look forward to the future, while being grateful of the past.

At the end of this article, we are presented with a thoughtful gift from the A1 freshman Dino Wen to the school. With full enthusiasm, he composed a song for the school, showing his deep respect and love for the school, inspiring every student of SCIE to bravely pursue their dreams.