FIRST DAY AT NWSD - By first year student Felicia Tshego Mosiane

FIRST DAY AT NWSD - By first year student Felicia Tshego Mosiane

Felicia Tshego Mosiane shares the typical anticipations of a first year student attending the first day at fashion college.

January 28th arrived with slightly gloomier weather patterns than Klerksdorp is used to but as I arrived uncomfortably early (7:30 am-ish) at the North West School of Design I was greeted with welcoming smiles that each had a warmth that could only compare to the sunrise on the first day of a new journey.

As cheesy as that sounds, it was so fitting because today wasn't a first day of school like any before.  I wasn’t about to enter a learning institution that would be teaching me modules that I saw no real life application opportunities in like Calculus or to meet people who I had nothing else in common with than the fact that we all wear an extremely unflattering uniform in joint silent internal discomfort.   No, this first day is literally the first day in the journey towards becoming who I want to be in an industry I want to be in. But no pressure, right?

Being the first to arrive gave me a unique opportunity to observe how the rest of my new fellow classmates kind of interacted when we first made contact.  There were the friends that already knew each other so they sat together. The extremely talkative and friendly crew, a couple with what seemed to have a permanent scowl across their face and of course the wallflowers: Your regular group of individuals just trying to make this notoriously awkward day as non-awkward for themselves as possible but still unwillingly creating more awkwardness.

Then the day’s orientation formalities began. We met the experienced staff who seem cool but in a ‘don’t test me’ sort of way and the energetic  second and third years which I thought was a refreshing approach instead of keeping us all separated and therefore causing us to be intimidated by the stylish, outspoken bunch.   We later got to actually talk to them and pick their brains a bit. Each inspiring and motivating us in their own way, probably without even noticing it.

Thereafter we went through the detailed induction manual which included every bit of information we could have asked for and also basically telling us upfront that we have to stay focused on why we came here. 

Drill in that motivation from day one, why don’t you. 

It is clear why this place produces such highly skilled graduates because from the looks of it we’re going to eat, sleep, breathe and sweat fashion.  No lacklustre cruise-mode learning here.

From there the dreaded socialising section of the new school process had to begin. It obviously is never a ‘Kumbaya’ around the campfire situation on the first day but we still faced this challenge head on and basic pleasantries were exchanged followed by sharing background stories and course selections and with that you could see us slowly beginning to lower our guards and maybe open up to the possibility of making new friends.

As far as first days at tertiary institutions go, this was the least possibly excruciating and that’s probably because at the end of the day, nothing was more evident than the fact the staff and students at NWSD really do see each other as a family.  If not like their immediate relatives, then definitely like those favourite cousins you love from a distance but a family nonetheless.

This overall sense of comradery and support as well their emphasis on their commitment to make sure graduates leave their campus fully equipped to face the fashion industry head on, is the reason why (above any personal reservations one may or may not have had) tell that me that my fellow first years shared my excitement not only to grow as a person and learn as much a possible but to also really become a part of this fashion school family.