The school administration has started a new program to help freshman students who have had little to no chance of visiting the school campus.


The pandemic has taken away opportunities for freshmen to interact with other students in person. Before the spread of the coronavirus, gatherings for freshmen such as MTs and OTs were held to provide school-related information and help them build ties with other students. However, without these programs, freshmen have had a hard time adapting to university life.


Paeng Ji-won, a freshman majoring in HOKMA College of General Education, expressed her feelings about the limited opportunities to interact with other students. She stated that she has met no more than five people from the same college so far. The lack of school information was another difficulty that she needed to overcome by herself.


“It was such a disappointment to miss all the opportunities to be acquainted with my colleagues and seniors,” Paeng said. “It was hard for me to feel a sense of belonging to Ewha, since I could rarely visit the campus and interact with other students.”


Seo Hye-in from the Division of Business Administration also described her attempts to overcome the situation.


“As I live outside of Seoul, it was especially hard for me to meet colleagues in person,” Seo said. “I tried to establish a sense of attachment to the school by participating in online programs where I could interact with other students.”


In response to the hardship that freshmen have been experiencing, the Ewha Student Counseling Center (ESCC) held an idea contest for contents to help freshmen adjust to their school lives. The winning teams earned the position of Ewha Healing Group (EHG) during the fall semester.


EHG is a group of student supporters who help students relieve their stress and worries through various programs they have designed. EHG’s programs were presented online during Mental Health Week, an event conducted by ESCC to care for students’ mental health. The programs of EHG were available on CyberCampus from Sept. 16 to 29.


One of the winning teams of the contest was a team named Counseling Team for Ewhain’s Worries, comprised of four undergraduates. Even though Mental Health Week has ended, the team continues its program for freshmen as healing supporters from EHG. Ku Na-yeon, a student from the Division of Business Administration, explained details about the team’s program.


“Since there are numerous freshmen who have never been to school, we wanted to relieve their stress by letting them talk about school life,” Ku explained. “We also thought it would be a chance for them to develop a sense of belonging to the school.”


“It will be great to have more students take attention to EHG’s upcoming events and actively join in the programs,” Cho said.

저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지