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Waseda University Co-op New Semester Project
Kirara Takanezawa, 4th year School of Culture, Media and Society

At the service counter of Waseda University Co-op Life Center/Travel Service Center (Waseda Campus Building No. 17, 1st floor)

While studying on campus, students participate in activities and work that improve the value of the university. In this way, we will introduce what kind of students are involved in "Student Participation/Student Jobs," which play an important role at universities, and how they are involved. This time, we will introduce the daily life of Kirara Takanezawa, a fourth-year student School of Culture, Media and Society who is working on the Waseda University Co-op's back-to-school project.

Q. How did you get started?

Around the summer of my second year at university, I learned of an organization called the ``Back-to-School Project'' through a recruitment email sent from the co-op. I enrolled in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and I had a difficult time starting my student life with anxiety as I was unable to connect with Waseda University students at all and had trouble gathering information. At that time, I realized the importance of having seniors you can rely on. This time, I decided to apply because I wanted to share my experiences as a senior Waseda University student, and hope that my juniors would be able to live their own student lives in the large-scale field of Waseda University.

Q. What kind of activities do you do?

My main job is to prepare and run the "Entrance Preparation Information Sessions" held in December and March.

The Entrance Preparation Information Session is a face-to-face information session for new students sponsored by the Waseda University Co-op, in which student staff give presentations about student life. Additionally, we will be displaying and selling Waseda computers provided by the co-op, electronic dictionaries useful for language study, and other items, and we will also be setting up a booth related to the CO/OP Student Mutual Aid, which is a mutual insurance system for students.

Naturally, explanations require knowledge about each product or service, so training is provided in advance. In preparation for the briefing session held in December for those who pass the recommendation from designated schools, training begins in August during the summer vacation period, and presentation materials and practice will continue until November. Once the December briefing session is over, we will hold meetings and prepare materials for the March briefing session for successful candidates. Since ``anxiety'' and ``needs'' differ from person to person, student staff share their opinions based on their own experiences, and we consult with co-op staff to ensure that we are able to respond to new students from all walks of life.

Scene from the 2022 entrance preparation briefing session. At the booth introducing the school cafeteria, we offer discounted coupons (left), and we also offer advice from Guardian on everything from preparing for living alone to job hunting (right).

Q. Please tell us what you felt through the activities.

We feel that new students have a wider variety of concerns than we can imagine. At information sessions, I have seen many new students become overly anxious about exaggerated information on social media and the internet. That is why we believe it is important to convey accurate information based on actual experience. It's very rewarding to see new students' faces brighten up when their problems are resolved through counseling. I always try to start a conversation with new students by asking things like, ``Do you have any concerns?'' or ``Have you decided on a second foreign language or student clubs?'' and always try to approach them with a cheerful smile.

Q. How do you manage to balance multiple things, such as your studies, student job, and student club activities?

I am conscious of "planning" and "concentration". I belong to two student clubs. Since I was involved in the management of both student clubs, I had to do a relatively large amount of clerical work for student clubs, and I also had to do schoolwork during the exam period, which placed a mental strain on me during my second and third years. In order to avoid this, I wrote down the tasks that needed to be completed by when for each item of schoolwork, student clubs, student jobs, and worked backwards from the deadline to steadily move forward. I was also conscious of setting a work time and focusing on my work.

Q. Please tell us about your future aspirations and challenges regarding your activities.

As a senior student, my goal is to become a student staff member who is trusted not only by new students but also by Guardian. Up until now, we have focused on conveying our real-life experiences to new students, but from now on, I hope to alleviate the concerns of Guardian listening next to them, and to have them leave with a smile on their faces. For example, I would like to be able to give accurate advice on the entire process from admission to graduation, which only a fourth-year student who has survived seminar selection and job hunting can offer. Also, the members of our new semester project are ``senior Waseda University students that new students are meeting for the first time.'' I would like to always be aware of this and try to behave in a way that does not disgrace the people who came to the entrance preparation information session. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of new students I'll meet.

How I spend my week when classes are in session

One week during my second year of university, during the week of the entrance preparation briefing session. About a month before the information session, I worked on back-to-school projects at the same frequency every week.