By Lara Fisher
Since joining as a Fresher in 2018, the Anthropology Society has provided me with some of my best memories, I’ve made great friends by attending society events, I’ve travelled to places I would never have visited and last year I even became President of the society (something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing before coming to Uni). Without the Anthropology Society, my University life would be completely different. Keep reading to hear about my time in the society and see why joining a society like AnthSoc could be the making of your university experience.
My First Year.
Coming to University was a big step for me and quite a daunting prospect. I come from a small town in the countryside and I had lived there my entire life. I always had the same group of friends and I’d never moved schools or houses. It was for this reason that I knew from the beginning that joining the Anthropology Society would be good for me. It gave me a better chance to meet new people with similar interests and provided me with a place that I could get support if I needed it.
During Freshers Week I attended three Anthropology Society events: an Archaeology dig , a campus bar crawl and a tour of Canterbury. Though I was feeling a little homesick, by the end of the week I’d had an amazing time with the society. I’d been involved in an excavation project (and learnt how to flint knap!). I knew my way around Canterbury and the campus, and most importantly I had met people who would soon grow to become some of my closest friends! Considering what a great first week I’d had, I was excited to see what else I could look forward to. Over the course of my first year, the Anthropology Society continued to arrange lots of great events and I attended almost all of them. Many of my best memories from first year happened during these society events. I went on lots of pub crawls in town, I attended movie and games nights, celebrated Christmas and Halloween, went to interesting lectures by guest speakers and I received support at academic help sessions.
The highlight of the year was a four day trip to Leipzig and Berlin in Germany where we received a private tour of the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. This institute unites some of the world’s best researches with the aim of investigating the history of humankind through the analysis of genes, cultures, cognitive abilities, languages and social systems. We also attended private lecturers by their scientists and saw Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Bonobos at Leipzig Zoo. When we weren’t at the institute we had plenty of time to do some sightseeing, eat traditional German food and sample the famous German beer. Overall it was an wonderful trip!
I’ll be honest, the first few months my 1st year were actually quite difficult for me. I felt homesick a lot of the time, I was often mysteriously ill and so I had to spend a lot of time stuck in my room and I struggled to get on with my flatmates. However, despite this, when I look back at my first year, I largely see all the good times I had. By going to Anthropology society events, by spending time with the friends I had met there and by perusing the hobbies I enjoyed, I managed to put many of my problems behind me and have a good time despite it all.
My Second Year
It was toward the end of the trip to Germany that Felicia (my friend and President at the time) asked me if I would consider running for President. Before coming to University, being on the committee of a society would have been something I was way too nervous to even think of, but eventually the encouragement I received from people in the society gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone and go for it. In April I made the decision to run in the elections and I became President of the Anthropology Society in September 2019.
The Anthropology Society has given me so much opportunity and completely changed the way I have experienced university.
Over the course of my year as President, I learnt so much and my confidence increased in the process. I also met lots of new people and had a fun planning and attending the events we hosted. We did so many great things over the course of the year from running academic help sessions, to hosting talks by lecturers and planning café afternoons, museum visits and pub crawls. Here are my top 3 event highlights from the year:
‘Pub Anthropology’
Every Tuesday students gathered in a local pub to discuss different anthropological topics over food and drinks. A range of topics were discussed including: ‘What Killed the Neanderthals?’, ‘Are gender roles a product of biology?’, ‘Is prolonged life feasible?’ and ‘Is Marxism still relevant?’. The enthusiasm people showed during these debates was inspiring. Regardless of whether you participated in the discussion or just listened to others opinions, at the end of the evening you were guaranteed to walk away having learnt new things and gained new perspectives.
Halloween Murder Mystery Party
At the end of October we held a Halloween murder mystery party. Each person came dressed up in costumes and was assigned a character to play in a murder mystery story. The acting was hilarious to watch and the games went on in to the early hours of the morning. All in all it was a really great night and was an amazing way to get to know new society members.
Our trip to Spain- Madrid/Burgos in January 2020
One of the best parts of the year was a five day trip to Burgos and Madrid in Spain. Trip highlights included a private tour of the Museum of Human Evolution, and the Atapuerca Archaeological site which provided society members with a unique opportunity to see a UNESCO world heritage site that has contributed to some of the most ground-breaking anthropological discoveries in the world. There was also plenty of time to check out the numerous cafes, restaurants and bars that Burgos had to offer and see some beautiful cultural sites.
When I look back at my time here, I’m amazed by how much I have done.
I have now been at Kent for two years and when I look back at my time here, I’m amazed by how much I have done. The Anthropology Society has given me so much opportunity and completely changed the way I have experienced university. As I enter my third and final year, and continue on the society’s committee as Treasurer I’m excited to see where else the society takes me.
I came to University as a shy and nervous 18 year old but because of everything I’ve done with AnthSoc, I’ll be leaving next year with a lot more confidence, experience and some amazing memories. Embrace all that university has to offer and you might be surprised how it changes you for the better.
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