An interview with the 2020 freshers.

Orientation week happened a while ago and peace has fallen to campus and not because of the orientation events have ended but because we live in these strange times. Despite of that, we got a chance to talk with few folks from our new batch of freshers and here’s what they’ve been up to!

Before anything else, once again, congratulations on your success and getting into the University of Helsinki! First things first; how have you liked being here so far?

Melissa-Aleksandra: Thank you, I am LOVING it so far, no lie! I was quite nervous at first, as I imagine every fresher is, but I'm positively surprised by how many friends I've already made! I think that's the part I was the most worried about: I was convinced I'd like my studies at the very least, but I was a bit worried about not finding anyone I 'vibe' with… thankfully, my fears were unfounded, and SUB absolutely rocks!

Robi: I've had the time of my life! Lectures are interesting, teachers are super helpful and everyone I've met is super welcoming. It's been wonderful. I must admit that I'm a bit tired, though. We've had quite a few assignments to do lately and studying takes up most of my time.

Maria: Thank you! So far, it's been pretty great. The classes that I have are really interesting and I love the centre campus!

Sounds great, we welcome you warmly! Has everything gone the way you expected, considering the situation?

Robi: I think things have been going well. Some of the teachers seem to struggle a bit with online environments but that's understandable. It's a weird thing to get used to. With that said, I think that everyone has handled the situation pretty well. I'm especially thankful for how well orientation week was executed. I'm so happy that I got to meet other people face to face after spending my summer indoors.

Melissa-Aleksandra: Well, like I said, better than expected! Not only have I been able to befriend other students through zoom sessions, whatsapp group chats and events we've held online (like online pub and movie nights etc.) but we've also managed to have some picnics, fuksiaiset, small group lectures and such in real life too — so all things considered, it's going great! Sure, I wish we didn't have to worry about you-know-what, but hey, we're making the best of a crappy situation and it's going okay so far, I think!!

Maria: Before starting university, I was a little concerned about how this situation was going to affect meeting new people but luckily, we've had a lot of fun events organized by the tutors. (though there are less events and more actual schoolwork than I expected).

We are glad to hear that the situation hasn’t hindered making new friends! Lectures have started, and you’ve gotten a taste of studying in the university, which areas of English philology interest you currently?

Maria: I find phonetics quite interesting but if you'd ask me next week my answer might be something completely different.

Robi: Oh god where do I start? Everything is so new, exciting and interesting. Studying literature sounds awesome, but so does studying linguistics! Phonology is really cool and language technology seems nice as well. I love learning new things and uni provides an endless amount of things to learn. I'll have to hold myself back from studying literally every single aspect of philology...

Melissa-Aleksandra: Well, all of them are (thankfully) interesting so far, but I must admit I am quite the bookworm, so I’m a big fan of everything related to literature! I love reading books during my free time already, so getting to read them for university assignments is a win/win!

How about other subjects, have you given any thought about what subject you’d want to minor in?

Melissa-Aleksandra: Definitely Japanese, as I already speak it and want to translate it professionally in the future, but... I know it’s quite hard to actually get into, due to its popularity. My ideal plan is to minor in Japanese, but I am also interested in other languages, particularly Latin, Spanish and Russian. I like history, as well, but that’s another one that’s quite the popular pick… We’ll see!

Maria: Probably German or Swedish.

Robi: I have thought about some options, yes, but I have no clue what I'll end up choosing. Again, everything seems so cool and I kind of want to try a bit of this and some of that etc. Probably the ones I've considered the most are art studies, cultural studies and Chinese.

Well, you have time to figure everything out! What are you expecting from your studies?

Maria: I'm expecting it to get even more interesting!

Melissa-Aleksandra: Lots of blood, sweat, and tears…? Countless all-nighters powered by Red Bull? … Panic? ...But also getting to learn more about the things I am passionate about, and hopefully eventually feeling like I could be an actual professional at what I want to do…!! And of course, plenty of good times and laughs shared with my lovely fellow students.

Robi: I don't really know what to expect. Everything can change in the blink of an eye and life is so full of surprises. I wasn't even expecting to get into university on my first try but here I am. I guess I'll figure things out as I go.

Many great things ahead, we’re sure! Have you already planned out your career path?

Robi: Not really. I don't usually plan too far ahead so when someone asks me what I want to do when I graduate, I kind of laugh it off with something like "I don't even know what I'll make for dinner tonight”. I know that I don't really want to be a teacher, but other than that, I have no clue.

Maria: Yes, I want to become an English teacher.

Melissa-Aleksandra: I’d love to be a translator or an interpreter of some sort… Literature, TV, songs, websites, legal documents... Anything, really! I love languages and the act of translating in itself, so something like that would be the dream! Language teaching would also be cool, but only outside Finland… Sorry, just being a regular English teacher here doesn’t seem interesting to me, but getting to do it overseas and interacting with different people and cultures? Sign me up!

Almost done! Any last greetings or tips for surviving, let’s say, a zombie apocalypse?

Maria: I hope everybody has a great semester!

Melissa-Aleksandra: Just tell the zombies you have, uh, the you-know-what, the… Voldemort disease. That which shall not be named… You know what I mean. Maybe the zombies are scared, too! They want to live as well, after all!

Robi: When in doubt, get yourself a sword. That will get you through anything, even a zombie apocalypse. Swords are useful in multiple ways: Self-defence, hunting, cutting your way through thick bushes etc. And even if the zombie apocalypse never happens, you still get an epic sword!

Such great greetings and tips, we will advise everyone to take heed! Thank you again for taking the time to answer a few questions and all the best luck to you in your future adventures during university!