Reflections of an academic adviser

On the eve of the First-Year Students’ Debut, I found myself wondering: how do I see Social Work Group 103, and how will you see them?

I have decades of experience as an academic adviser. You might think I have seen it all and know a great deal about students, their personalities, dreams, and life stories. Yet this time feels special. I can say without hesitation: I have never had a group quite like this one!

And it is not just about how different our students are. It is about the wealth of life experience, strength, courage, kindness, and extraordinary stories that each of them brings.

Do any other advisers to full-time student groups have a combat veteran among their students – someone who, alongside his comrades, was defending his future classmates while they were still growing up, going to school, and dreaming about their futures? Today, they sit in the same university classrooms, yet one of them carries experiences that words alone can never fully convey…

Thinking about this makes my heart ache. At the same time, I feel boundless gratitude to all the men and women defending our country, thanks to whom we can live, study, make plans, and greet each new dawn.

Our group also includes young women who made a conscious choice to study Social Work, having already tested their abilities and commitment to helping others while studying the same subject at college. It is particularly rewarding to see a career choice that is more than an entry on a form: a considered decision shaped by personal experience, compassion, and a desire to make a difference in other people’s lives.

There is another story I simply have to share.

Being ready to help older people and people with disabilities right now also describes a student in Social Work Group 103. Berdyansk State Pedagogical University selected him to travel to Rome, Italy, under the Società Dante Alighieri programme to study and gain experience in social support. His willingness to step beyond the familiar and explore new opportunities is certainly something to be proud of. And, of course, so is our university, which helps students take such meaningful steps.

Another student is currently guarding critical infrastructure, helping to maintain stability and access to essential resources and services. The everyday things we take for granted often depend on someone’s responsible daily work. Among us are people who understand this through lived experience.

Or perhaps you enjoy listening to the accordion? Then you will certainly be interested in meeting our student who is a music college graduate and a prizewinner in music competitions. After all, music is a special language that can touch the soul even when words fail us.

Among our first-year students are also those who live very close to the border with the aggressor state, volunteer, help preserve Ukraine’s woodlands, and care for animals. Perhaps great changes begin with small but heartfelt acts like these.

Yet there are also students in our group for whom much of what they hear about their classmates will be a discovery. And you know what? I am glad about that! University life is about more than lectures, assessments, and exams. It is also about meeting people who change our understanding of the world, challenge stereotypes, teach us empathy and respect for others’ experiences, and help us see the person beyond appearances.

Perhaps this is one of the greatest gifts of belonging to a student group: we arrive as different people, and through being alongside one another, we become better versions of ourselves.

I admit that, when I look at my first-year students, I feel more than an adviser’s sense of responsibility. I also feel genuine curiosity, anticipation, and hope. What will they be like a year from now? What will they learn from one another? Will they come to feel that a group is more than a list of names in a register – that it is made up of people they can turn to for help, share their joy with, and rely on when times are difficult?

I truly hope they will. I hope they learn to listen to one another, value their differences, celebrate each other’s achievements, and remember that behind every life story is a person worthy of respect.

I hope that those reading this post will also be interested in getting to know our group, as well as the other groups taking part in the Debut. Each is a world of its own, full of talents, dreams, worries, and hopes.

As for how the students themselves see their group, we will find out at the First-Year Students’ Debut. And I must admit, I am very much looking forward to that moment.

My dear first-year students! I wish you every success in making Social Work Group 103 a close-knit, supportive, and truly unique group! May you have many reasons to be proud of one another. May your university years bring you not only knowledge but also meaningful discoveries – about one another, the world, and yourselves. I hope that, years from now, you will look back warmly on your everyday student life and say: “We were different, and that is what made us special. We started as a group and became a team.”

With gratitude for your stories and faith in you – Natalia Zakharova, Academic Adviser to Social Work Group 103.

Natalia Zakharova,
Associate Professor, Department of Social Work and Inclusive Education