Observing and learning the ropes of an all-new academic context, the newly enrolled first years in engineering colleges are revelling in new-found freedom. Inside their classrooms and out in the campus, they are a thoroughly ecstatic lot.
Complying with information from around and above, most first years, while being career-oriented, are also indulging in the pride of being in a ‘professional' college.
Fun
“I never expected college to be such fun. It's no longer like in Intermediate when we used to rote-learn practically everything.
Our teachers here interact with us a great deal,” says Priyanka, studying first year of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (EEE) at Gitam Institute of Technology.
“It has barely been 15 days since my college started and we've already bunked class once to watch a movie. I would never imagine doing that while in intermediate,” she giggles.
The first years are rearing to participate in co-curricular activities and interact with students from other colleges.
Students of several colleges have also made Facebook ‘pages' for their batch and group.
Forming peer groups, commuting groups and student union groups, they are busy finding knew ways to learn and celebrate.
With a pragmatic approach to learning, the freshers are eager to top the score sheets, for “without good grades you are a nobody in the job market today,” says Vineeth, a first year student at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology (MGIT).
That apart, bus journeys to colleges in the outskirts of the city, which take up few hours of their day, freshers say are make for one of the most exciting parts of their routine.
“I was never allowed to travel so far by myself before.
In the bus, we get to interact with seniors and classmates from all other streams.
There are absolutely no inhibitions. Plans for an entire day are made while on these journeys,” says Mohit, another fresher.
Seniors in engineering colleges, interestingly, are the nostalgic ones this season.
“During the four years that it takes for us to graduate, we develop a distancing approach to our student roles, to identify our professional roles.
We become more critical of our study context. The first years however have a refreshingly different attitude towards college,” says Kartik, who just graduated from Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology.
In reflecting back on their first year, several students said they learnt and absorbed a great deal more then.
In order to keep up the motivation for the next three years they say that it pays off to remain as excited as one is in the first year of college.
