GCU scholars tackle social isolation through The Welcome Network
Two Postgraduate Ambassador Scholarship recipients at Glasgow Caledonian University hosted The Welcome Network last month.
This cultural and well-being initiative aims to address social isolation, relocation depression, and the emotional challenges of beginning anew in a different country.
Glasgow Caledonian University, known as The University for the Common Good, supports students who show a commitment to leadership, volunteering, advocacy, and making a positive social impact in their communities.
This mission is at the centre of The Welcome Network, led by scholarship recipients Mfon-abasi Michael Inyang, known as Jamie, an MA Television Fiction Writing student, and Caleb Chezhain, an MSc Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Research student.
The event took place in May and was designed to support students, migrants, young professionals, and community members dealing with feelings of loneliness, identity loss, homesickness, and the emotional burden of rebuilding life away from home.
We spoke with Jamie and Caleb to find out more.
Background
Jamie said: “The assessments were very immersive, and I am graduating in November, leaving with actual scripts I have written.
“The scripts are ours. It is not like it belongs to the school. The idea belongs to us at the end of the day.
“I have done master’s and undergraduate courses before, and it just gives you education and a certificate and then you must start looking for how the industry works again. But this one, you already know how the industry works.”
Caleb said: “I have been working as an optometrist for five years since I have done my bachelor’s also in optometry. I love looking at people's eyes.
“One fascinating thing about eyes is that you check eyes and find out the systemic diseases of people, like diabetes, hypertension, thyroid conditions, etc. You look at the eyes, and you can find out, and it is a wonderful thing to do that.
“I like meeting people, finding out the problems and solving them. I have worked in a few hospitals for the less privileged. So, it is a privilege for me to be able to provide the service to people.”
The Welcome Network
Jamie said: “The event was called the Welcome Network, and it was an initiative to create awareness and create a sense of community and connection for people struggling with relocation, depression and social isolation. And as much as we have each other and we have other small communities, we have all felt that sense of depression or isolation that directly relates to relocating.
“We just wanted to create a sense of community around it and raise awareness for that because there is not a space that really tackles it. What we did was come together, plan it, and the Social Hub gave us the venue while the sponsor provided food and drinks.
“I reached out to SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) and partnered with them, and they sent someone to do a keynote for us about depression caused by relocation and social isolation, the causes of it, how to identify it and how to cope with it.
“We had one of GCU's International Recruitment Managers as one of the panellists too, because he is the one who encouraged me to apply for GCU.”
“I also produced a stage play about relocation depression and it was basically bringing it to people on different fronts, trying to entertain people but also raise awareness so people could see it and identify with it.”
GCU Postgraduate Ambassador Scholarship
Jamie said: “I applied for the award, and I think around 600 others did too! I have always thought of Scotland and GCU specifically as I knew people from here.
“I saw GCU were doing an advertisement for a student recruitment event in my country and I wanted to go. They spoke to us about student life and payment plans, then one of the recruitment officers would look at your CV and give you advice.
“Then I went to the person in charge of funding and funding opportunities, and he told me to apply for the postgraduate scholarship and told me that only one person per school get it per intake – I thought I had no chance.
“I had both the recruitment officer and funding opportunities officer checking up on me to make sure I had applied for the scholarship and so I did – I sent the application at 2pm, three hours before the deadline… and I got it!
“The level of support I received even before I was a student made me realise that the level of support I would get throughout my time would be so helpful.”
Standout Moments at the Event
Jamie said: “I created bingo cards and people were so invested – people that did not know each other were now working as a group and getting to know each other.
“Danny Quinn came from SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) to answer questions, and everyone was really getting involved. He was only supposed to do it for 30 minutes and it ended up being over an hour because people were just so engaged.”
“Also, lunch was a standout moment. There were people who did not know each other just having lunch together and laughing and chatting about moving. It really demonstrated that sense of connection and community.”
Next Steps
Jamie said: “We got great feedback for the event, and we would love to do it again. What I would change is making it a bit more inclusive and not only for immigrants.
“Because even if you are going from Glasgow to Edinburgh, you have faced this before. If you have moved from London to Glasgow, you have faced it before. I want people to not just see it as: you must have moved far before you can face relocation depression.”
GCU is the University for the Common Good
Jamie said: “The event also aligns with the Common Good and the values of GCU. I am always thinking: how can this have a positive impact on the next person and the next person? And wanting to create that ripple effect so that even when you leave that position, that effect just keeps going.”
Think you'd like to go to their next event? You can follow their page here.
By Lucy Rodgers
Got a story you’d like to share with me? Email me at lucy.rodgers@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on LinkedIn.