Christian Union Society Freshers guide 2017

Freshers’ Guide

Hello :)!

WELCOME TO TRINITY AND CU!!

My name is Katty Garcia and I am the Freshers’ Officer at TCD’s CU, which means I’m here to help you (as much as possible) to settle into the CU, Trinity, your long-awaited-for college life, and to Dublin in general!

To be honest with you, for me the whole experience of transitioning into college was a real nightmare at the start, but as the year progressed I found lots of friends, encouragement, and ultimately a home at CU. My biggest hope is that you might have an even better experience on YOUR first year.

In CU you’ll always find a welcoming environment, and people from other years who are 100% willing to provide the best advice they can give you.

There will be fun and exciting times, as well as more relaxed, and studyfocused ones. (See the following pages for more details!)

For now I’ll let you read on through this booklet put together with so much love for all of you. Hopefully it will answer any questions you might have about CU and what we do! :D Warmest welcomes, Katty (*is super happy that you read until the end*)

What is TCDCU? The Christian Union is a Gospel-based, non-denominational fellowship whose members live to proclaim the Good News of Jesus on campus.

We meet on Mondays at 7.30pm in Room 3074 (Arts Block) for an opportunity to praise God, pray, and enjoy fellowship together. Although this is a great place to meet other Christians and grow in your faith, CU welcomes people from all faiths (or no faith at all!). So, if you’re looking for somewhere to explore and learn, or find out more about God, please do come along!

CU runs a wide variety of events every year, from free lunches to Christmas Carol Services, weekends away and events involving other CUs around Ireland, all of which you are more-than-welcome to. There will always be an open invitation to join us and make new friends at any stage!

What happens at CU? The Christian Union will hold their main meetings every Monday in Room 3074 (Arts Block) at 7.30pm, for a time of fellowship, worship, prayer, and usually a guest speaker. The evening is finished off with tea, biscuits, and chats with friends.

We also have weekly prayer meetings and small group Bible studies (you can find one that suits your timetable!).

CU Weekends Away happen early in the year at Castledaly Manor. This year we have planned to go from the 13th until the 15th October.

I strongly encourage you to join us in as these are great ways to meet people and study the Bible in more detail, discovering how it applies to us and the modern world we live in. Also, it’s SUPER FUN! Other highlights include the Christmas Carols Service in the Chapel, the fortnightly Globe Café (events to help international students to settle in), Events Week at the start of Hilary Term (which allows students to purposefully reach out to others around campus and let them know what the gospel means to us), and of course Freshers’ Week (hoping that you are already enjoying it)!

Lastly, as a CU, we try our best to encourage each other to live a life that might glorify God in everything we do and everywhere we go, so please feel free to get involved in anything that might catch your interest.

Make yourself at home. We hope to see you A LOT this year! :D

Meet the Committee!

PRESIDENT -- Georgie O’Sullivan From County Dublin 3rd Year PPES

Hello, I’m Georgie and I’m a third year PPES student. I’m serving as president this year on committee. The role includes chairing committee meetings, contacting speakers and overseeing the running of the committee. If you’ve any questions or want to get involved in any way do get in contact!

V.P. & INTERNATIONAL OFFICER -- Young Chae Soon From Seoul, South Korea 3rd Year Sociology & Social Policy

Howdy! My name is Young and I’m a third year Sociology and Social Policy student. I’m Vice President and International Officer; my role as VP is to do what the President does if she’s unavailable and as International Officer I welcome and help international students feel comfortable as they settle in Dublin.

I also help them integrate with the CU through Globe Café, which is a great place to meet people, develop friendships and really have the craic. This is a fortnightly bantersession, open to all students, Irish and non-Irish. If you’d like to know more about it or help out, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

SECRETARY -- Klaudia Jarosz From Poland 2nd Year Psychology

Hi! I’m Klaudia and I’m a 2nd year Psychology student. I’m the secretary of TCD CU and my role involves administrative tasks such as taking minutes in committee meetings, responding to emails and booking rooms. Feel free to get in contact if you have any questions and/or if you want to get involved.

TREASURER -- Miriam Smolenski From Germany 3rd Year English Literature & Sociology

Hi. My role as the treasurer of CU involves organising the finances.

I’m in charge of getting membership discounts, raising sponsorship for the society, budgeting, lots of receipts and other monetary matters. If you would be interested in supporting the CU financially, do get in touch!

EVANGELISM & P. R. O. -- Rachel White From Cavan 2nd Year Clinical Speech & Language Studies Hey hey . I’m PRO and Evangelism officer this year for the CU. I get to be chief poster maker for the year in order to spread the word around campus about our meetings & events etc. I’m also the social media queen (so you know who to hold responsible for cheesy posts and tweets!)

Evangelism is at the very heart of what we do as a CU. One of our biggest aims is to serve Christ and to make Him known on our campus. This is a part of CU that everyone can get involved with (e.g. by talking with friends and even inviting them along to meetings). There’s also a special ‘Events Week’ each year where we really focus on outreach together as a CU. Anyone who has poster making skills, a heart for sharing the gospel or both please get in touch!

SMALL GROUPS COORDINATOR -- Naomi Isip From Dublin 2nd Year Clinical Speech & Language Studies

Hi! I’m a second year Speech and Language Therapy student and I will be the Small Groups Coordinator for this year. I’m looking forward to reading the Bible together and discussing it in groups. My job is to arrange Bible studies throughout the week in college. I would like to encourage you to get involved in a group as we can learn from one another.

FRESHERS & PRAYER OFFICER -- Katty Garcia From Guayaquil, Ecuador 2nd Year French & History of Art and Architecture ¡Hola! My name is Katty, and I have flown across the Atlantic Ocean with one solemn purpose: to survive in the cold green lands of Ireland. Also, to study Art History and French. My role involves helping the Freshers so that they can have a smooth transition into college life (settling in, as well as making sure that they have plenty to do).

I’ll also be organising prayer meetings throughout the academic year where we’ll be praying for the campus here and CUs all over the place! I’m SO looking forward to making new amigos and amigas this year! Please don’t hesitate to ask should you need anything, we’re all here to help!

MUSIC COORDINATOR -- Daithí Greene From Holywood 3rd Year Music

Hey guys – I’m a third year Music student from Holywood, County Down and I’m really excited to be the Music Co-ordinator this year. I lead and co-ordinate the worship music that we sing together at our weekly meetings and encourage others to take part in the worship team. If you want to be a part of our worship team let me know!

TCD Survival TIPS!!

BUDGETING LIDL and ALDI are your new best friends! Make sure to keep on top of your money from the start: listen to all the advice out there, make use of your student discounts and bring your own lunch! One TESCO loaf of bread lasts much longer than your €5 SPAR sandwich.

Also, Freshers’ Week = Free/Cheaper food. Keep your eyes open!!

BE SMARTER THAN YOUR SMARTPHONE Technology was made to make your life easier, use it! Download the TCD and main public transport apps (Dublin Bus, LUAS, Leap Card Top-Up), as well as Google Maps so that you can find your way around Dublin quicker. Get your Trinity Wi-Fi connection sorted ASAP, and PLEASE check your TCD emails regularly – they help you keep updated on everything going on in campus!

ORGANISATION IS KEY There is a time for everything, but in college you always seem to run out too quick. Stay on top of your schedule! Figure out how long it will take you to get to your 9am, set 20 alarms if you need to, but try hard not to miss lectures. The year will fly, but every effort made pays off :D (especially during exams).

SO MANY SOCIETIES! First year in college should be enjoyable, and is the perfect opportunity to try new things.

Archery? Debating? Rock Climbing? Snowboarding? Volunteering? Go out there and make the most out of it! Just make sure to balance it with your responsibilities as an academic :)

SEE THAT OTHER LITTLE BOOKLET IN YOUR BAG? It is worth noting that CU is not a church, nor is it meant to be a substitute for one. If you’re new in Dublin we encourage you to have a read through this list and start attending a local church, which can further help your smooth settling into town. Tag along during our Church Crawl next week if still in doubt of where to look first!

EVERYBODY HERE WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP :) Last year many of us were in the same situation as you, and in college we are all still learning, so please do not hesitate to talk to us. Everybody will try to give you a hand to the best of their ability, no matter how big or small the problem might be!

Freshers’ Week This is YOUR week! Try to enjoy it to the fullest :D! Like all other societies, we’ll be running many events to introduce you to your new college life, featuring: pizza, games, movie nights, delicious pastries, an IKEA trip, and chances to make many many friends!

In addition to receiving our beautiful weekly emails upon signing up with us, you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected.

Ask us any questions you might have, be it about studying, on-campus facilities, accommodation, the library, where to find a toilet, where to find the best burritos (#TeamBoojum), ANYTHING! :D We’ve been praying for you, and will continue to do so as you settle in!

Find your way!

ATM

GET YOUR WIFI FIXED

636 WORK OUT TIME! YAY! (gym)

Come visit our stand during

Sciency

FRESHERS WEEK :D

Realm

ROOM 3074 (CU meetings! c: )

Artsy Realm SEE THE BOOK OF KELLS (+2 friends) FOR FREE!

ATM

Hope to CU soon!

TCD CU Website Facebook Twitter Instagram CU Email Georgie (President) Katty (Freshers’ Officer)

tcdcu.com TCD Christian Union @TCDCU tcd_christian_union cunion@csc.tcd.ie osullig5@tcd.ie garciaka@tcd.ie