January 24, 2023
My Journey With ISA
My dear readers,
2023 huh? I feel like it went from January 1st to January 23rd so quick! Anyways, I hope you all are doing well. While some of you are ending your exchanges here at LiU, this period also welcomes LiU’s new exchange students and all international students who have gotten admitted. A big congratulations to all of you who have gotten admitted, I am super proud of you guys. However, I know that moving into a new place can be scary and exciting at the same time. So today, I want to show you the power of student associations and how they can help you with your social life as a student at LiU – whether you’re an exchange, international or a Swedish student.
But first, what is a student association? A student association is a big part of LiU’s student life. These associations cater to a wide variety of activities like music, sports, dancing, or photography.
I am a part of and work at ISA – the International Students Association at LiU. I was recruited in late April of 2022 and am very grateful for the opportunity to part of a great team. Us at ISA are a non-profit student association, who represent all the international students at LiU. We try to help all students transition into Swedish culture and society, and make sure that they feel comfortable and enjoy their university experience. The association has many different groups like PR, Events, Sponsorship and the Executive Board, thus helping it run smoothly.
In the events team (I work here hehe), we focus on organising the welcome periods during August and January, and at least three events every month throughout the year. There are classic events like board game nights and movie nights but we also have seasonal events for Christmas and Halloween as well. For example during December 2022, we screened Polar Express and also hosted an ice skating event to commemorate the winter spirit.
Now that I have explained about ISA, I want to connect the dots and make you, my reader, understand how it could help you. If you want to meet new people, make some friends and gain social experience, attending an ISA event is a good start. Everyone is in the same boat as you, people are nervous and everyone just wants to fit in. Coming to these events will allow you to start a conversation and break the ice with new people from different cultures. You will find people that are from places similar and different to you. This can help you bond through language perhaps or share cultural experiences. I have recently been learning Spanish on Duolingo so every time I meet a Spanish-speaking person at an ISA event, I try practicing the language with them.
My personal experience with ISA has been very fulfilling so far. I work as the Head of Events and I think the most satisfying part of the experience is when you guys walk out of our events with a smile. Helping people and putting a smile on their faces is something I want to do everyday, so I love being part of a group where we all work to give you a memorable social life at university. For those of you who come to ISA events, THANK YOU! Your energy helps us to keep organising fun-filled activities all year along.
I hope to see more of you at ISA events and if you have any questions, you can always contact us on Instagram @isalinkoping.
Till next time my readers,
Shiv <3
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