More Than the Degree

My Year at Campus Section

It all started on a cold dark night at Otaniemi, I was a new student and didn’t have much to do besides studies and I was quite eager to be part of Aalto community. I was already struggling to find my ground because I had arrived late in Finland and lost orientation week where most people find their bearings and find what they can do at Aalto. I was browsing through Aalto webpages and first thing I saw was that Campus section was recruiting for volunteers. I was a bit hazy on what it does but I applied still. Next thing I know I am already recruited and joining up with other volunteers. In start I was still feeling a bit of an outsider because mostly the volunteers were Finnish and I couldn’t relate much because I was already going through a cultural transition.

Wappu declaration — Declaration of Wappu

I was the first person to represent internationality at Kampusjaosto/Campus Section. As Aalto becomes more and more diverse, Campus Section recognized the need to engage international students to make their life also the best student life in the whole wide world. For me this whole year at Campus section has been a rollercoaster ride. Not only I got to learn a lot about life in Otaniemi and Finnish culture but also worked on several projects alongside other members to activate our village for all its awesome dwellers. This position has given me a lot of freedom to experiment how to create new ideas and do things never done before. Also, this position for an international person automatically brings to the table an out of the box approach by default to all my fellow peers.

As a volunteer I was part of projects such as organizing the declaration of May day madness, Flower day, Village Cleanup and for the first time Campus Section introduced international students to the world of Croquette a summertime craze at Campus. Volunteers are also given many opportunities to chill them selves and organize evening just for themselves. I would highly encourage everyone to apply because not only you get to do a lot of cool things but also have wonderful evenings just to meet new people and above all make lasting friends along the way. Given the chance again I will always choose Campus Section and the same people all over again.