Congratulations on gaining your place at Loughborough University! Loughborough has been voted the best student experience in the country for the fifth year running, and now you are ready to begin yours. Rutherford is obviously the best place to be on campus, as it is the heart of the student village, boasting a long heritage of excellence, which has labeled it with an unrivalled reputation. The atmosphere in halls is incredible and it won’t be long before you spend many, many hours in the dining hall, chatting away about last night’s events. I feel so excited to be in halls again next year with you all, this year being my third!- Just goes to show how much fun you will have here.
As hall chair, I am chair of a committee of students, who are responsible for making your Loughborough student experience exciting, eventful and never ever dull!! Each member has a specific responsibility on committee, from organising sports (which we hope to dominate this year) along with charity and social events.
Rutherford has brilliant opportunities to get involved in: beginning with sporting events against our opposing halls. So if you want to get involved in sport at Loughborough then come to Rutherford. The support we get to each game is insane and everyone absolutely loves it. The most important piece of advise I can offer to you is to get involved, whether it’s playing sport, coming on a social or taking part in rag and action events! Trust me, taking part is the best way to make new friends. We can also boast to having a brand new common room, so don’t be afraid to go in and play pool, watch TV, etc.
On your arrival day, we will all be there to help you move in, show you to your room and make you feel at home. The committee are a friendly bunch of people, so don’t feel scared and nervous. It is our job to help you settle in and make the daunting prospect of moving away from home as pleasant as possible. We are here to help so if you have any problems please share them with me, even if its feeling homesick at 2 am, I am only a phone call away, and ill have tea and biscuits ready! I guarantee that by the end of fresher’s week, you’ll feel as if you’ve known everyone for years!! It’s unbelievable just how quickly you will adapt to the Loughborough way of life! I am not just speaking for myself, but the number of returning students coming back into Rutherford shows I’m right!
Now, more importantly- FRESHERS WEEK!!!! We have arranged 13 action packed days and nights full of activities, socials and events all designed specifically for you and enabling you all to settle in and have as much fun as humanly possible (before the work begins)! Participation is completely up to you, but my second piece of advice would be to do as much as you physically can! You only have three or four years at this incredible university, in an awesome hall, so don’t waste a second of it. The aim of fresher’s week is so you can meet loads of people and settle in properly with your neighbours; trust me I would take full advantage, this Fresher’s week will be like nothing experienced at other universities!
Fancy Dress in Fresher’s is a huge factor!!!! So bring everything up with you!!! If you want to check out the themes go to our fresher page (Rutherford Hall, add us as a friend and Loughborough Rutherford Hall 2011/12, join the group). Browse through our photos and check out the fancy dress nights from last year.
There is nothing left to say apart don't worry!!!! Remember, everyone coming to Rutherford will be in the exact same position as you; it’s a time to make the most of being who you want to be. I’m looking forward to starting the year with you all, and don’t worry about a thing, you’ve got a good committee, working to ensure that your time at Rutherford will be awesome.
If you’ve got any questions, big or small, if you’re worried or excited about anything and want to get in touch with me over the summer than please please e-mail me at C.Monks-10@student.lboro.ac.uk , or add me on facebook. I’d love to get to know you all as soon as possible!
I can’t wait to meet you all on 28th September!
Charlotte Monks
Rutherford Hall Chair