How do these new students experience their first year? Part 4: the summer holiday

IJsbrand (18, Molecular Science and Technology bachelor)

“My holiday has so far been wonderful. I went to Croatia with my parents and sister. We came back to the Netherlands via Verona. I am unfortunately not be here for the OWee as I will be going to France with some friends.

My course’s first-years’ weekend has also passed. I was there as a mentor this year. It was a completely different experience than last year when I was a newly arrived first year. As a mentor, you are the one who answers their questions. It’s good as it shows you how much you have changed since then. I am now a lot more independent as compared to when I moved away from home.

I was very busy this year at both my study association and the Krashna Musika student association. I have been very active at Krashna Musika, even though it took some credits. But luckily I got my BSA (binding recommendation on continuation of studies) so I have no regrets.

It’s also given me a lot. I am a candidate for the Board of Krashna so I will probably start serving on the Board in September. I was elected as Choir Commissioner. I will then work on Krashna’s choir, in which I sing too. I will make sure that the communications go well, organise the sheet music, the contact with conductors and anything else that pops up. I am really looking forward to it. Next year my Board year will probably be higher on my priority list than my study.”

Aqdas (22, Civil Engineering master)

“I will try to do this interview in Dutch. I may switch to English if it doesn’t work. Is that okay?

I really enjoyed last year. My degree programme is the biggest part of my life here. I usually study on campus and am almost always there. The degree programme is a lot better than I expected. I passed everything.

I stayed in Delft during the summer holidays. I don’t enjoy travelling that much and I really wanted a quiet holiday. I am a teacher at the mosque’s summer school and I have a temporary summer job at Duwo welcoming new students to their new room. This is very doable – they send me a message when they arrive and I give them the key.

It got very hot in my room sometimes. I don’t have an air con and it’s better not to use one. It gets hot in the Netherlands, but in Mumbai it is sometimes hard to breathe because of the heat, high humidity and pollution. I don’t really like heat that much. I prefer autumn and spring in the Netherlands.

Now that it is holiday season and I have more time, I try to cook new things. And I try to keep my languages going. I watch Japanese anime to keep up my Japanese, and my mother and I are learning Arabic. We phone for an hour almost every day. Last year I worked intensively on learning Dutch. There are another four Dutch language courses here at TU Delft, and I want to sign up for all of them.”

Dorsa (20, Computer Science and Engineering bachelor)

“I am a mentor this OWee. I really like it! I enjoyed the introduction week so much last year that I thought I’d join in this year. It is really nice to go through the OWee from a different perspective.

Last year was quite heavy. I am proud of my perseverance. I think I did well and things worked out well in the end. I only failed two subjects, which were quite hard. It really helped to have gotten my BSA. A load fell off my shoulders.

I had my last resit on 18 July, and have been on holiday since then. I got my examination mark quickly – I passed! – and I started screaming at the train station. From then on, I had absolutely no stress anymore. I then went to Italy with my family for two weeks.

I do everything one step at a time. I started studying last year, got my BSA, and then took it easy. This year I want to make space for other things. I signed up for the Robotics Association which I’m sure will be a lot of fun. I will also start looking for a room. If I find a nice one, I will think about moving to Delft.”