UNNC Hangzhou Student Recruitment Briefing - 宁波诺丁汉大学招生宣讲会
Campus Representation for Campus Recruitment
The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, which I will refer to as UNNC, has plenty of departments that fulfil different tasks always with an interest in internationality. In particular, some of them play a role in enhancing campus life and improving students’ experience. At the same time, there are some other departments that play a key role in promoting the UNNC so that more students and parents across all of China discover and learn about the UNNC. I volunteered with the UNNC’s Campus Recruitment Team to do so in quite a big city close to Ningbo: 杭州 Hangzhou, the capital of the Chinese province of 浙江 Zhejiang.
Our Share of Work: getting down to business!
The event would be an opportunity for parents and students to gain insights about the UNNC, studies, opportunities, achievements, standard of education, etc. Our role as volunteers would be welcoming the visitors, preparing their gifts with leaflets about the UNNC and other keepsakes, and, after the talk, answering questions the visitors could have regarding any aspect of the UNNC (in my case, primarily computer science modules and opportunities).
My, my. Who doesn’t like an accreditation that also serves as a souvenir for my collection!
After waking up early last Saturday for this event, I headed to meet both the other members of the Campus Recruitment Team as well as some of the volunteers I would be working with. I was given my (super cool, exclusively provided in advance!) UNNC hoodie for the event, and we were off by bus for a two hour trip to Hangzhou. The event was going to take place at the conference hall of a beautiful hotel near the city center; there, some other UNNC volunteers from the zone were already preparing the tables and gift bags for the visitors. After a brief introduction of the team, we got down to business! We were four in total at the entrance ready to welcome guests, and all of us were on the edge of our seats (figuratively and literally) wondering when they would start coming in. For this, we prepared a small introduction which, if my memory serves me correctly, was as follows: “下午好，您们是来参加宁波诺丁汉大学招生宣讲会的家长吗？这个物料是给您们的。请向右上楼就座，感谢。” (Disclaimer: there was a specific word for the material we gave， but I cannot remember which in particular!). We took turns welcoming guests and handing over the gifts, although soon after we were flooded with 人山人海， “a mountain and a sea of people”, so gifts were quickly running out and we would take turns bringing more bags, preparing them, and handing them over (when I tell you we were sweating, I truly mean it!). While preparing the bags with material regarding the UNNC, we turned into lightning-fast volunteers that would have them ready with the uttermost efficiency in an assembly line (the influx of people really motivated the efficiency).
The conference room was crowded
Thankfully, visitors were punctual, so once everybody was at the conference room, some other volunteers and I were given some time to rest. With the first mission out of the way, we began preparing the room where the follow-up face-to-face questions would happen. While my level of Mandarin is slowly improving day by day, keeping up a formal conversation is quite difficult, so I was accompanied and supported by my peers during the last part of the event. Parents flooded the room and shortly after all of us, volunteers, were answering the visitors’ questions and comments in a light-hearted setting. Finally, once the visitors left, the mandatory group picture of the team was taken (see if you can find me in the picture! I think it will not be hard ;) ), and we returned back to campus. Whilst during the first half of the bus ride all of us were chatting, during the second half everybody decided to take a nap, and arguably so! It had been an intense day, overall.
Group picture! The event was successful due to the efforts of so many people! It was at the time of this picture that I realised how big the team actually was.
Quick Last Thoughts
Overall, had one told me before arriving to China that I would be volunteering in an activity of this kind, I would have replied with a “Ehehe”; after all, I shall recognise that I find a certain joy in making my way into unexpected places =). Thank you, Campus Recruitment Team, and thank you to the friends I made while volunteering, for being part of this fun (and frantic) experience; besides, the conversations we struck up in between were certainly fun.
Regards,
Saúl
The aforementioned chitchat between volunteers 谈谈
Thank you