The New Class is a web series which follows a group of new students as they experience Memorial University’s St. John’s campus throughout the 2016-17 academic year.
The series offers an insider’s view into the opportunities and challenges new students face during their first year on campus, and features 10 students from across the province and around the world.
Meet Amber Williams
Amber is 18 years old and comes to Memorial from Chatham, Ont. She is pursuing a bachelor of education degree and hopes to become a teacher. Amber lives on the St. John’s campus in Doyle House, Paton College, where she is a member of her residence’s mental health committee.
The Gazette caught up with Amber to get to know her a little better.
What are you enjoying most about university life?
I think the thing that I enjoy most about university life is the environment. You are given the freedom to do what you wish while learning, and if you live in residence you get to become a part of a family that helps you grow as an individual and feel safe.
What do you find most challenging about university life?
The most challenging thing about university life is actually being so far away from home. I’m only about 2,000 miles away and it’s hard not seeing my family and my friends back home every day.
How is campus life (or life in St. John’s) different from what you’re used to?
Campus life is a lot different than what I’m used to. The class sizes are a lot bigger. There are a lot of different aspects that I don’t think anyone gets used to during their first year, like the pace here is a lot slower, while where I’m from it’s a faster pace, where everything has to be done in that moment.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
This is a hard question, because there are so many different things I do in my spare time. I either spend time with friends, watch movies, or we might go exploring, or we might even end up at the mall. It truly depends on what we feel like at that exact moment in time. Truthfully, when I have spare time to myself, because everyone is either sleeping or in class, I like to call home and talk to my parents and my best friend because I miss all of them a lot. Even a five-minute conversation with them makes me feel like everything is okay.
What are you hoping to accomplish at Memorial?
Honestly, while I’m here I hope to get my degree in education, and as completely cliché as it sounds, I hope to find myself as a person.
Watch the latest webisodes of The New Class on our YouTube channel at memorialuniversity.
