In my initial weeks at the University of Rwanda, UR Huye Campus was unforgettable moments. My experience was full of optimism and good vibes. These vibes emanated from the way I was welcomed. The gesture actually indicated the future full of hope and promising.

I was thrilled by the new dawn of my academic journey like any one scaling his or her heights in the course of life.

Dubbed an induction week is defined as a period when high school graduates at the University are explained and briefed on the new learning environment.

My induction week was packed with activities related welcoming new students. I attended various workshops, seminars and information sessions which gave me a clear picture of the campus life ahead.

We were briefed on the sessions of time management, study skills, and academic ethics to help us navigate the student’s dos and don’ts concerning academics at the campus. My journey to University was like a passage of rite and a bridge to drive me into another cosmos of environment of the learned. Apart from the academics, I was introduced into a vast range of extracurricular activities such as sports teams, clubs and others.

Funnily, I remember a moment that I later came to discover that everything at the campus premises have its nickname. And boom!  When we reached at the restaurants, the moniker names are displayed on the classroom walls according to how cheap or expensive they are. There are those that are VIP, regular, and funnily some are dubbed strange names such as Kill Me Rapidly, Kill Me Quickly and more.

Additionally, we were also led to one of hostels including those with funny names such as Facebook and Saidi. We were told that Facebook hostels is deserved for boys whilst the one named Saidi is unisex.   While in the campus tour, we walked into the corridor of the campus hall where we met this savant and an experienced doctor who had earlier completed his studies at university of Rwanda for quite a longtime. He looked into our faces and then a smile flickered into his face. His grin indicated his positive expressivity. He told us words of encouragement and sugarcoated it with this phrasal statement that I can’t forget.

“Teachers open the door but students must walk through it into a journey of life” he said further noting “Success is not a one-time action but a continuous process.”

My initial days at the campus are inexhaustive but I learnt that induction weeks play an important role in helping senior leavers to transition smoothly into university and get a foundation for a successful academic journey.