Congratulations to Lee Caplin (2007) on his graduation from Science in TCD
October 25, 2011
Congratulations to Lee Caplin (2007) on his gradation from Science in TCD and wish him well in his decision to emigrate to Israel....making 'alyiah'.
Blog Past Pupils
First impressions of college and university
October 17, 2011
Culture Shock by Ciara Murphy
It would be an understatement to say that I was excited about college. After almost three months of lazing around, partying and giving myself a well deserved break from the stress of the Leaving Certificate, I was more than ready to get some routine and structure back into my life. I was also lucky enough to get a place in my first CAO choice (Journalism in DCU) so things were going very well for me.
However, it wasn’t long before the curse of “culture shock” hit home. Having come from a class of merely twenty three people, it was overwhelming knowing that I was going to be in a core group of forty eight. And I was thrown into the deep end even more so, having discovered that some of my modules hosted lectures to over two hundred students! It was a completely different setting to anything I had been used to before. Some days, although you are surrounded by people, university can be very lonely.
To be honest, it is more than the size and large groups that throw many off their first few weeks of college. Having attended my first week of lectures, I felt nothing but sheer confusion! Many of the modules are intense and jam packed with information, such as law and politics, whereas others are seemingly simply from the onset but are actually very demanding. Take my "News writing" module for example, if the article's are handed in less than a minute past the deadline or over/under the word count, they are not corrected! Another aspect of college that I found off-putting was the amount of public speaking you are expected to do. From debates to presentations, it’s pretty terrifying for some of us!
I realise that whoever is reading this must be thinking “God, she must really hate college!” but this isn’t true. I’m just expressing how different it is from school and, contray to popular belief, the workload in college is very demanding (yes, even in first year!). Having said all of this, I’m beginning to settle in and I’m really enjoying myself now. After six years of avoiding it, I’m finally conquering my fear of public speaking, I’ve gotten involved in many clubs and societies and I’ve made some friends with other Journalism students who had the same fears and difficulties that I did.
Be aware that college is going to be very strange, daunting and scary to begin with. As long as you are patient and give yourself a chance to settle in and make friends at your own pace, you should survive life as a fresher!
Cathal Brugha Street Fresher by Vincent Murray
Hey! My name is Vincent Murray and I was in Stratford until last year. I am now in DIT Cathal Brugha Street studying a BA in Tourism Management. I will be blogging about my Third Level experience especially in DIT. Currently this is week 5 of 16 before the December break and it is not as laid back as I thought it was going to be. However it’s still less work then the Leaving Certificate. In DIT, for assignments you must get four weeks notice, so am you can imagine some assignments are due in within the next two or three weeks. They promote you joining Societies and Clubs - so basically doing after-school activities. I am Chair of one Society that is Young Fine Gael DIT and I am also a Governing Councillor of DIT. So my first few weeks in college have been a bit hectic but overall an enjoyable experience - meeting new people, having different lectures. It is fun. I'll write before the December break again.
Surving the first day by Cal McGhee
Prior to my entrance into DCU, whenever I heard the word ‘university’ I thought of like-minded scholars under one roof, sharing horror stories of lectures whilst downing coffee and Berroccas in attempts to finish assignments, and speaking with that mother tongue of free-wheeling dry wit I had only ever eavesdropped on . Completely drained of optimism that I would ever become one of those students, to say I was in disbelief when I scrolled down to my CAO acceptance place would be an understatement. Now, having experienced my first taste of life post-Leaving Certificate, the transition to university life has been a surprising albeit pleasant one.
The first day, although it was an almost cartoonish disaster, taught me more lessons than any of the lectures I attended that week (it was Fresher’s Week after all, so there weren’t that many, yet) and was a rite of passage necessary to overcome that odd ‘jolt’ you get from the initial culture shock of college. By the end, I had already, most definitely established myself as ‘the tardy one’, short-changed by painfully slow bus routes and 40 minutes late for my first lecture. After getting over all of the unprecedented disasters, there came those crucial first encounters with class-mates; the odd glances to and from students who sat by themselves hoping for some sort of interaction with the faces they would spend the next three years with, and the initial social atmosphere of bars that makes you wonder ‘how all these people know each other already??’. In hindsight, the first week of college was an unforgettably different sensation, but is also a fantastic keepsake that will really be with you for the long-run. In that crucial week, taking a breather and seeing things clearly is essential. Time and time again will you be told to put effort into the notorious ‘mingling’ stage, and realize it comes naturally because of the congenial atmosphere which, more or less, every college exhibits.
One thing I would hope for any new college student, although not entirely substantive, is for a few familiar faces waiting for them when they get there. I had someone to go about the shortcomings and fish-out-of-water scenarios with, and somehow it made navigating campus a lot less of a worry. You would have to have an impermeable confidence to walk around without feeling like a dwarf in the land of giants, and having another dwarf by your side is a godsend, but not always attainable. After my fellow ‘dwarf’ departed early one particular day, I had to fend for myself in the seemingly isolating land of giants, and finally realised that there really were no giants, mostly dwarves, some who were far shorter and insular than I, without a shred of confidence to spark conversations. It’s a shame to see newcomers be so timid, but everyone learns at their own pace. However, I doubt that will be a problem for Stratford's Sixth years! Another milestone any of you will have, no matter how many friends and acquaintances who adorn your lunch-tables, there will eventually come the day where you’ll have to sit alone in the campus pub/restaurant, and feel like a newcomer all over again. You’ll look around and see chaps playing snooker over casual house-pints, bands of ‘bffs’ taking up every couch, and deafening chatter mixed with equally deafening stereo speakers. But, out of nowhere, that feeling of newness dissipates, and you open up a near-by newspaper lying around, read it casually as if you were chilling by your patio door, and any traces of awkwardness creep back into the crevasses of the mind where they belong.
An admitted nervous wreck at the initial thoughts of ‘The Third Chapter’ of Education, I can whole-heartedly say, no matter what college/university it is, it’s guaranteed to be microscopic of the fears and anxieties that plague you beforehand. After all, what’s so scary about free pizza and bouncy castles on the grass?
[Images: www.sxc.hu]
Past-pupil, Verity Walsh (2010) featured in this month’s Image
September 26, 2011
Past-pupil, Verity Walsh (2010) is featured in the "Real People" feature in Image magazine (September 2011). (Click on thumbnails to open an enlarged version of photo.)
Friends, parents & past pupils of Stratford Schools
September 19, 2011
Friends, parents (past & present) & past pupils of Stratford Schools are invited to join our Business Network now! See network for more details.
Calling the Class of 2002
September 19, 2011
Calling on the class of 2002 - join staff, student & guests on Friday 28th October for coffee at 10.30am followed by our Annual Awards Ceremony and/ or join www.facebook.com/stratfordcollegedublin and our Business Network.
