ON Wednesday, January 23, the new first-year students at Grootfontein College of Agriculture, together with their parents attended the institution’s welcoming ceremony.
Students from all over South Africa were enrolled for their first year at the college outside Middelburg.
The principal, Themba Cebani, thanked the parents and students for making Grootfontein their choice of institution for further studies.
Tino Herselman, director of GADI, welcomed everyone with the following words: “Strike a balance between academic, sport and social life. Do things together and grow as a family at Grooties, for here you will make friends for life.
“At a point in all our lives we are stuck, stuck in a comfort zone,” SRC president, Adriaan Stander (Bakkies) said.
“Maybe there is a life you desire but you don’t take action. But you are okay with it, you are okay with your comfort zone because here you feel safe… here you are on auto pilot, in survival mode.
“My wish for each student and lecturer at Grootfontein this year is to step out of this comfort zone.
“May I inform you today, the sooner you step away from your comfort zone, the sooner you’ll realise it really wasn’t that comfortable at all,” Stander said to officially open the academic year for the new students.
For the following six days, the first-year students followed an orientation and support course programme at the college as well as a teambuilding session at Karoo River Rafting. They also participated in several sporting activities and a tour de campus to make them feel at home.
