"What Would You Tell Your Fresher Self?"

Rosalyn Claase — Director of Student Experience

As I write this, I wonder how relevant my words, the best part of a quarter century since being in your shoes, actually are. I risk providing a textbook answer to how to make the most of your student experience, after all, that’s what my job title implies I should be doing — directing your student experience. But I can’t and shouldn’t direct it. Your experience is yours and yours alone, and I sincerely hope you make the most of it: savour the good times, learn from the less good times, and make friendships and memories along the way. 

You will each be different — remember that. Indeed, in this little corner of North East Fife you may encounter people, cultures, concepts that you never realised you would, which is something to celebrate, however challenging that may sometimes feel. 

What I do want to remind you though is that your experience will not be dictated by what happens on day one — so don’t worry if you are homesick to begin with, if you feel out of your depth in class, if you haven’t yet met your new bestie within Freshers Week, or if you don’t get into the first team of the sport of your choice. Every day, every semester, every year that you are here, you may meet someone new, learn something different, develop in ways that you didn’t realise would be possible. Be open to that happening, take opportunities where you can, and reflect on how you are changing and growing. 

Of course I’m going to tell you to get to lectures on time, take part in class, make good notes, hand in assignments by the deadline, and immerse yourself in intellectual debates with your friends and coursemates. I know you’ll be doing that — most of the time... I also know that you may be filling your time in other ways as well — with clubs and societies, with part time work, with volunteering, with family responsibilities. If things seem tough at times, please ask for advice or help before things build up. You’re going to be busy, remember to be kind — to each other, to the people who teach and support you, and to yourself. 

Good luck — I’m delighted to be welcoming you to St Andrews.

Amelia Perry — 2024 Art History Graduate & The Saint Editor-in-Chief 2023-2024

I must admit that the prospect of an extant ‘Class of 2028’ makes me feel more than a little nauseous, this being the first September in a while that I too have not been returning to St Andrews. 

​I cannot sit here, in any good conscience, pretending that there is a right or wrong way to ‘do’ your time here, but what I can tell you is that it goes by quickly. Before you know it, you too will be crossing the stage in Younger Hall, about to claim your brand-new degree. You are on the cusp of four years of immense personal change — which, with a combination of luck, the right people, and a fair few life lessons thrown into the mix, should be a very good thing indeed. 

​What I can tell you, though, is to fall in love with St Andrews. Yes, it’s small, and a bubble, and no, the nightlife isn’t the best in the country. But let’s be honest, has anyone ever pretended otherwise? The good thing about mapping a life onto three streets is one walk down the length of West Sands shrinks it all to the size of your palm. That perspective, when things aren’t going so right, goes a very long way.

​Stop worrying too much about your future. Sure, you can plan, and think, and plot your next move. But worrying about it, when you have the rest of your life to do that, is futile. And it doesn’t stop it from arriving all too soon. Enjoy the moment.

​As for your people, you will find them. It might be in Freshers’ Week, it might be in third-year, but I promise you, they’re out there. It’s natural for friendships to change and shift over the course of your time here, but the good ones, the really true ones, will be there for the long haul. A hallmark of a good friend, by the way, isn’t someone who blindly tells you that you couldn’t possibly ever be in the wrong. They’ll tell you when you get it wrong and be there to pick up the pieces anyway. I promise you, there’s no shame in getting to the end of this, your first week, feeling like you are the only person on your corridor who hasn’t met their best friends yet. Be patient. They’ll come. Just remember, cherish them when you find them.

Photo 1 by Gayle McIntyre

Photo 2 from Amelia Perry