Hello, I’m
Adil an ASTI from the United Kingdom and I’ve just finished off my first year
of the MSc in Management at ESSEC. Right then, a short(ish) post about some of
the things I did at the school this year and how they helped to me to integrate
into the student body at ESSEC.
What is integration?
For an
international student, integration quite simply means being involved in ESSEC’s
never-ending menu of student activities. Taking full advantage of the school’s
community is how you’re going to add value to your period at the school on top
of getting a world class education. It’s an opportunity to make friends,
improve your French, get involved in projects and show your leadership ability.
The key to
your integration into the school is predicated on two things: being adventurous
and not being phased by the fear of failure. Too often international students
are intimidated by the social structure of the association life. Overcoming
this attitude is crucial to ensuring that you achieve your potential at the
school, and as Peter O’Connor told me in a
recent interview for Reve FM, recruitment processes for associations should be thought of as
practice for your future career applications. After all, no one walks through
open doors their entire life.
Where to start?
If the
first month at ESSEC is a big party (I assure you, there’s more to it than
that) the weekend of integration (WEI) is your ice-breaker. Traditionally seen
as a first weekend away for French students, the WEI is more open to
international students than ever. The BDE (the student council) organises a
smorgasbord of fun activities on a beach somewhere far, far away from Cergy.
Top tip: Get together with a group of
international friends during the first week and book your tickets. Since it
usually costs around 200 euros, none of you will back out after paying that
much.
Rallye des assos, Nuit des assos and the
recruitments
The first two
events: nuit des assocations (an open-house at ESSEC) and rallye des
associations (a kind of flat-party relay) are important for helping you decide
which associations you like the look of, and which you’d like to be apply to be
recruited for. Go around and meet as many associations as you want, talk to as
many people as you possibly can, and get a feel for whether you’d be a good
fit. People are really happy to speak to you about their associations in
English or French – so don’t have any hesitation about walking up to one of the
stands. Add all of your potential associations on Facebook and listen out for the
date of their recruitments. Write them a short e-mail to say why you’d like to
apply (a couple of jokes in the e-mail never go unappreciated) and wait for
them to give you a time slot for an interview. In my first trimester I applied
to ESSEC North America and Plaidessec. I was accepted by the first and rejected by
the second. But even if you don’t get picked up by a particular asso, DON’T
TAKE IT PERSONALLY. You weren’t rejected because you are ugly; there are
several good-looking people who didn’t get in either...
Top tip: apply to a spread of associations
(e.g. one humanitarian, one international, one other) so that you give yourself
the best chance.
Sports teams
Hands down,
the best way to integrate into the school life. Because even if you’re a boring
individual with a wooden spoon of a personality, if you’re good at the sport in
question the other students have no choice but to hang out with you. With this
in mind, I joined the ESSEC Football Club and
made them suffer my company throughout an entire season. We did win a championship, mind
you.
Top tip: get down to the park and start
practicing your skills.
“Have a seat”
This title
is in reference to the ‘Chair’ programmes at ESSEC. A Chair is an academic
track which allows you to join a promotion of students in order to delve deeper
into a particular area of speciality. I’ve already written about the Chair
system in a previous blog post so, in short, I did the International Sports Marketing Chair from
January – June, got to work on a project for UEFA, went on trips to Switzerland
and London with people who I got on very well with etc etc. The applications
for these usually open around October time.
Top tip:
It’s a great way to get to know a group of people, but it’s also a big
commitment. Only apply if you are genuinely interested in the subject matter.
Reve FM
A specific
paragraph is reserved for this eccentric association which runs the oldest
student radio station in France. I joined up during the second recruitments in
March of this year, promising to host their first English speaking show which
would open up the station to the international community – and that’s what we did. I won’t be around at ESSEC much
next year to continue the show, so there might be a slot for a budding
international radio host with a “face for radio”. Drop me an e-mail if you want to
know more.
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