Business As Usual

Undoubtedly, one of the significant benefits of going to Monash University is the welcoming social environment. There are so many established programs that aim to welcome first-year students in particular, such as the BusEco Peer Mentor Program. The program consists of mentors, wise and experienced students, and mentees, new students entering university. My group, which consisted of three amazing mentors and around eight to ten mentees, met regularly every Thursday for an hour to discuss any issues, questions and general life ponderings we had.

Looking back, I really appreciated this initiative because not only were the mentees able to feel comfortable to talk about anything in an open environment, but we also developed strong bonds with each other. Whether it be complaining about group assignments or going on HSP runs together, we always had each other’s backs. As well as this, I learnt a lot about how university works, study tips, course advice and extracurricular activities. Our mentors (shout out to Ronnie, Carmen and Gupreet!) definitely facilitated our transition into university life, and guided us through any problems or dilemmas we had, which definitely enhanced my personal university experience.

It’s been a week since the official closing ceremony for the BusEco Peer Mentor Program. The ceremony included an afternoon tea with scones and tea, as well as a heart-warming speech from Alison Richardson, the coordinator of the Program. While it’s quite sad to see the program end, I know for sure that the bonds we made will last for years. As the “Ancora Imparo” motto says, “I am always learning” and the BusEco Program will irrefutably contribute to every mentee’s learning experience.

With exams coming up in three weeks time, what better way to procrastinate than to think about what I’m going to be doing for the upcoming break xD

As soon as I finish my last exam on the 17th of June, I’ll be making my way to catch up with my friends since university is draining most of us. We have already scheduled a dinner meetup during SWOTVAC, however I think we also need time to cool our heads!

My break, though, won’t just be consisting of catching up with friends, getting back into exercise or watching the latest sitcom, I’ll also be doing some volunteering over the break as well as heading over to a mid-year retreat! During the semester, I was lucky enough to be elected as a Subcommittee Member of the Economics Student Society of Australia, and during the break, the whole society is planning on heading to a mid-year retreat (location hasn’t been finalised, but I’m super excited to be planning it right now)! It should be a good stress-reliever, whilst we develop closer bonds with other committee members.

On top of all of this, I’m also getting my wisdom teeth pulled out over the break, which I’m definitely not looking forward to. But at least getting my wisdom teeth pulled out sounds better than finishing off this last essay for one of my subjects… or is it? Either way, I guess it’s back to work for me! #Week11Struggles

It’s Monday night and here I am sitting at my desk typing away at my laptop.

Work has been piling up as university has gone by, but I still can’t comprehend that we’re in Week 11 now. It’s such a scary thought knowing I started university not that long ago, and here I am, almost finishing off my first semester of university!

This first semester has been a rollercoaster for me, yet I have enjoyed every bit of it. Whether I’m joining clubs (I’m now a part of the Economics Student Society of Australia) or learning new content in my degree, the experience of university life has definitely opened my eyes to what Monash has in-store for me in the future!

Though I’m not looking forward to the upcoming exams (I’m looking at you, 6pm exam), I’m definitely looking forward to the break, where I can catch up with my friends and finally relax. I should also catch up on sleep during the break, too, since I’ve slowly turned into an owl during this semester!

Today began a bit unusually - I found myself reflecting and pondering on life at Monash at 4:30 AM (yes, you read that right!). I had committed myself to an all-nighter in order to finish an accounting assignment. I had actually gone over the word limit and it’s literally taking me more than five hours to reduce my essay by 200 words! As a result, I learnt several lessons this morning:
1) Try to finish your assignment earlier. All-nighters actually really suck!
2) Don’t think “oh I can always edit later, the main thing is I’ve done it.”

However, on this particular morning (as I am taking a break from doing the assignment; I gave up on sleeping altogether as I have classes at 8 AM) I also realised how fortunate I am to have been selected as an Ambassador for Monash Business School. Words simply cannot express the array of extracurricular activities I have been involved with through the Ambassador Program. Some of the biggest perks include a camp at Portsea before the semester (three days of gorgeous scenery) and building a large network of new friends.

A more recent opportunity was speaking and helping out at the Big Data Day, a brand new initiative by the School, which aims to engage year 12s who are interested in pursuing a career in business statistics, econometrics or actuarial studies. With the increasing demand for specialists in quantifying risk and uncertainty in business, there is an increased interest in the actuarial profession. Through this event, I met old classmates from Melbourne High School and had the chance to speak about Monash Business School to a lecture theatre full of students.

On top of the Ambassador Program, I am also a committee member of the Monash Actuarial Students Society, a commerce club run by students aiming to maximise cohesion and engagement with actuarial studies outside of the classroom environment. We have fortnightly meetings to plan activities and events throughout the year.

This year, as the Events Director, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the executive committee members of the club to ensure that our events run smoothly. The most recent of these events was the club’s flagship event, Corporate Cocktails (held last Thursday), and this was a spectacular night where sponsors and students - ranging from first year undergraduates to final year postgraduates – networked, ate and drank.

To top a fabulous night off, several of the members (including myself), journeyed to a nearby shop to purchase a Halal Snack Pack in tribute to the latest online fad.

University is a great place for you to try new things in a safe environment. As part of my peer mentoring group with Monash Business School, I organised a dance class for my first-year mentees. For myself and other members, this was a very new experience as we have never participated in a dance class before.

Monash Dance Sport were awesome and volunteered their time to come give us a dance lesson where we learnt Salsa and Samba. We warmed up, learnt the various moves of both styles, and were dancing away in no time (trying our hardest to keep up with the music!).

Even though we danced outside in quite a public area and got many stares from passer-by’s, we had heaps of fun and got a good workout too (haters gonna hate, right?).

Whenever an opportunity arises where you can try something new, give it a go, and have a great time doing it! You never know how much fun you just might have.

It has been an insanely busy week for me, but a busy week also means a productive and rewarding one! So what did I get up this week?

Monday (the day I missed the bus)
During my 6-hour break between my morning lecture and afternoon tutorial I journeyed from Clayton to Caulfield, and back again, via the shuttle bus service to attend a training session for my club, VGen Monash, where the VGen Uni Leader ran us through the detail of our campaigns and upcoming events and responsibilities.

Tuesday
I don’t have any classes on Tuesdays so I spent most of the day working on my part of a group assignment. I also had a social netball game at night.

Wednesday
My Wednesday classes are just about as spread out as my Monday classes, except it’s a five-hour break instead of six hours. During this time, I attended a Dean’s Scholar Meeting as part of the Monash Business School Scholars Program where the Scholars cohort had a discussion with the Dean and Head of the School, Professor Colm Kearney. I finished my day at uni with an after-class VGen meeting, where we planned our upcoming event and other goals for the year. On Wednesday nights, I would normally attend dog school with my dog, Poppy, but we ‘wagged’ this week so I could work on my two assignments due this week (she didn’t mind).

Thursday
Thursday is my second day off from classes. In the morning, I had an ‘Assessment Centre’ for one of the graduate programs I have applied for. It is quite daunting to be almost at the end of my time at university, but job-seeking is the natural next step for me and I am genuinely excited to see where my career will take me. After the Assessment Centre, I had a meeting for a student consulting group that I recently became involved with.

Friday (today)
I have an assignment due tonight so I will be spending my morning finalising that before my afternoon classes.

Tomorrow I have work – I have a part-time job in hospitality – followed by a friend’s 21st tomorrow night, which I’m excited for. On Sunday, I plan on meeting up with some friends for brunch, and a family dinner in the evening.

Phew!

In my previous post, I promised to explain why being a university student is the greatest. So, to end the week, here is my quick list:

• Freedom!
  You won’t have as many hours of classes as you do in high school and that allows you to fill up the rest of your time as you please. I highly recommend getting involved with things on campus, for example sports and student societies. It also means you have the time to pursue your hobbies and find out what you are interested in. For me, this was raising my dog who I adopted as a puppy last year, and who is now the most important thing in my life. 
• Friends!
  Although you may already have a close-knit group of school friends, uni gives you the chance to meet so many new people that are studying an array of interesting and different things. 
• Summers and Winter breaks!
  End of year exams for uni typically finish in November and classes don’t resume until late February or early March, meaning you have roughly three months off, not to mention the additional month off between semesters. People like to spend their time off in their own ways but travel is definitely really popular among university students. I myself have a trip to Japan booked for the end of June and, if the stars align, I also hope to travel to the States either late this year or early next year. 
• Being Independent!
  At university, you will likely have more independence than you ever had before and this is brilliant because you learn to be responsible for yourself as you become a ‘real adult’.

What a crazy week it has been! As week 6 is approaching, we know it’s that time of the semester where every unit decides to make assessments due at the same time. I think setting smaller goals, good time management and having a balanced lifestyle is what has helped me cope with all the stress.

One thing that has helped shift my focus off all the assignments, quizzes and weekly tutorial tests is being a part of several programs and clubs. Being an ambassador in the PAL program at Monash not only involves volunteering at various events on and off campus, but also planning and meeting up with our mentees on a weekly basis.

I enjoy these weekly encounters a lot because it reminds me what it was like in my first year, and how much I appreciated all the help from fellow students. If you are starting university soon or are already in the here but can’t seem to find your ground, you should definitely reach out to programs like these.

On a more social note, I am also a member of the Multicultural Student Fellowships. This is a club that brings people together so that students can meet other Monash students (from outside of their faculty) and even students from other universities in Melbourne. Most recently, we held an event that was called “Running Man”. Each group had to complete a number of missions to win the race. I was placed in the ‘Orange’ group, and even though I didn’t know anyone in my group, it wasn’t strange because everyone else was in the same boat. Although the weather did not cooperate with us on the day, we made the most out of it and had the best time. I will definitely be signing up to do it again next year!

Mid-Semester is just around the corner and it couldn't come any sooner! This week I finished one group assignment, wrote up a human resources evaluation report, conducted recruitment interviews, attended two committee meetings, organised a committee bonding event, worked at two jobs and....finally submitted my intercampus exchange application for Malaysia. Phew! Week 4 is done and dusted! I can finally get some decent sleep and rest up!

I am really excited for Malaysia, even though the application required me to photocopy two copies of every single page of my newly issued passport, and I had to provide passport photographs with a BLUE background. I did not realise how difficult it would be to do that! Virtually no post office or photography shop took passport photos with a blue background.

Several of my friends told me that planning for an exchange can be very stressful and time-consuming - they were spot-on. If you’re interested in doing an exchange, I suggest leaving a sufficient amount of time to plan it.

So what other plans do I have next week, besides catching up on sleep? Well, believe it or not, I will be planning for ANOTHER exchange that will take place straight after Malaysia. My next exchange isn’t an intercampus exchange (which has a slightly easier application process, even though it was still pretty tedious). Instead, it’s an exchange to a partner university, and as expected there are a lot more requirements and I will need to do some research over the mid-semester break.

Next week, I will also be hosting the committee bonding event for the new recruits joining VSA Monash and helping set up the investment banking case competition for UNIT Monash. We’re holding the committee bonding event at Clip n' Climb Rock Climbing, which is rock-climbing… with a unique twist. It has strange rock-climbing obstacles that are different from traditional rock climbing obstacles, such as slides, wheels, poles and ladders! I have also organised an amazing race in the city for another committee bonding event this Saturday.

Hopefully both bonding events will be a success!

It’s week 4 at university and I am quite ready for the Easter break! The last four weeks have flown by and they have been incredibly hectic. I spent Orientation Week frantically bolting from club to club, so it wasn’t unusual to see me changing from one committee shirt to another (like a superhero… or masked vigilante).

As a third year, I need to have sufficient time management and organisation skills in order to manage university, work and club commitments. I must admit, it is very tiring trying to balance everything and I am most likely doing too much, but it keeps me motivated!

I enjoy being actively involved in all aspects of uni because during my first year, my motivation and productivity levels were really low. I remember struggling to adjust from high school to university because I was lacking in self-discipline and had trouble completing all the assignments and assessments. However, I’ve since realised that my motivation is linked to passion and engagement. So after a mediocre first year of university, I have actively searched for volunteering, leadership and work opportunities at Monash and there’s so much choice!

I have wholeheartedly immersed myself in university life and it’s one of the best changes that I have made since starting uni. It’s crazy to think that I’m now in my penultimate year of my double degree and that very soon I’ll be moving on to the next chapter of my life.

As the Human Resource Director of the VSA (Vietnamese Students Association) Monash, I have been conducting recruitment interviews the last few weeks and it’s exciting to see that there are students who are stepping outside of their comfort zone and joining committees. Crazy to think that I was in their shoes not too long ago!

Additionally, as a Student Success Advisor, my job is to contact first year undergraduate students and to assist them with their transition into uni life. This role has meant that I provide constant referrals to new students, and it has made me realise the sheer number of support networks available for students to ensure that they feel welcomed.

My advice is simple. I tell it to the students who I call for my job and to the students who are in the peer ambassador programs: make the most of it! Your time at university is very short, so make the experience worthwhile. Your university experience can be some of the best years of your life if you grab every opportunity available. It’s more than just receiving a distinction on an assignment or acing that mid-semester exam - it’s about challenging yourself, networking, making new friends and exploring your interests.

There’s a unique student culture here at uni and being involved in extracurricular activities proves immensely favourable to employers, because of the skills and experiences you can gain and apply. If I could go back in time and give some advice to my first-year self, that would be it. However, this applies to all university students – new and old! Those who are already in second, third or even fourth year, should never feel like it’s too late to be participating in committees, volunteering and leadership programs.

It’s the beginning of the last week of University for 2015!

On the way to university today, I found myself contemplating what a memorable year it has been. Not only have I found and made new friendships, I have also enjoyed immersing myself in university life.

I’ve discovered that uni not only challenges you academically, but also provides lots of opportunities and caters for a range of interests. During breaks between classes, I never have to look too far away to see a club activity happening nearby. There are clubs of every kind, varying from Chess club to the Anime Appreciation society.

I also found the transition from high school to university a lot easier with the tight-knit community at Monash and the tips from my lecturers and tutors. Throughout the year they’ve constantly provided me with practical tips and their industry experiences, which I’ve found really interesting. I’ve also really enjoyed applying the theoretical content of my subjects into real life.

Last night I attended the annual Monash Marketing Students Society ball at the Brighton International. This is my favourite event of the year – going to a ball! Over the years, I’ve been to a few balls, and most large student societies have one once a year, so there are plenty to choose from.

What does one do at balls, you ask? Just like a formal, there’s dressing up, a three-course meal, a fun night out with friends and lots of photos (so many selfies!). There’s even an after party if you want to keep on enjoying the night.

Definitely put this one on your to-do list! The uni experience wouldn’t be as enjoyable without a ball.

Week 9 is here already, which means there’s just one week of classes and assignments before the mid-semester break. I'm sure most students have some exciting plans after 9 weeks of studying! This week, I have a group presentation and some IBL (industry based learning) work to finish - there is usually always some work due just before the break. Then it's off to the Monash Marketing Society Ball on Thursday evening for a night of dressing up and fine dining. Of course I'm looking forward to dressing up the most!

Now that the warm weather has begun and the end of the year is close (I can’t believe it’s September already! It was only January just yesterday..), I’ve started thinking about my plans for summer. Being in my fourth year at uni, this is probably one of my last big breaks before starting full-time work, so I want to make the most of it. Who’s up for some of those crazy milkshakes?! Maybe I’ll start a bucket list of things I want to do before the summer ends…

It’s mid-semester week for many of us at Monash!

As part of the Peer Mentor program at Monash, senior students are assigned to new students to help them transition into university life. As a mentor, I did my best to calm my mentees, who are furiously panicking over assignments and mid-sem tests.

Most of my friends are busily studying, but my week began with an assembly speech at Melbourne High School. Returning to my old school brought back so many memories, however, I could also feel the tension in the air, as the senior high school students have their trial exams next week.

After giving my speech (which was about time management) and spending some time catching up with all the senior students and teachers, I had to rush back to uni to attend my classes. Evidently, time management is pivotal!

Being back at my old high school reminded me how much I miss it. I think I even shed a tear or two over it! One thing you learn to get used to at uni is that there isn’t that same ‘cohort’ vibe that’s evident in high school, since everyone will eventually go off on their own paths. Because of this, it’s easy to feel isolated, so I always try to foster and develop as many friendships as possible.

During lectures and tutorials, I always like to say hi to the person next to me, especially if they’re alone and looking through Facebook memes on their phone. In my opinion, Mondays are the best day to make new friends, because you can always ask: “how’s your weekend? What did you get up to?”

Trying to prioritise assignments, tests, normal class work, work, extra-curricular activities and your social life is hard work. I write lots of lists and am always changing them, re-prioritising and re-organising my schedule. It helps to have a planner so I don’t forget anything.

For example, today I’ve got cupcake decorating, work for a few hours then I’m seeing a movie with my sister. I also have to study for a test next week! It’s a busy day and it helps to get to campus early so I have an hour to study before I have to do everything.

I’m really excited about the cupcake decorating activity that I’ll be doing as part of Non-Residential Colleges. We get to decorate a cupcake, eat it, and then put a note up on the Gratitude Tree, which is all part of our Random Acts of Kindness Week.

It’s good to be involved in social clubs like this. I always have fun, have met so many new friends and have been given the chance to take part in training workshops to develop my skills in leadership, teamwork and communication.

Being a part of social and leadership programs is one of the best decisions I’ve made this year. I’ve learnt so many new things from people with lots of different perspectives. I couldn’t imagine my uni life without these programs and the great activities I get to take part in!

I honestly cannot believe it’s week 3 of semester 2 already. Personally, I think I’m still in the holiday mood. The workload is much more intense as you progress through your degree so this year has definitely been more stressful for me, especially since I work part-time as well. It’s so important to be organised from week 1 onwards, rather than putting things off, whether it’s watching online lectures or doing the weekly readings.

The last two weeks have been hectic, not because of work but because I took part in the Monash University Sri Lankan Cultural Club (MUSLCC) annual cultural show ‘Maha Milan’ this year as a dancer. Rehearsals leading up to the event meant I had to be even more organised not to let my studies get impacted. Despite the stress, I’m so happy and content because the show was a hit!

I encourage every student to join the clubs at Monash that are relevant to your interests. They help you make friends and they display your various talents to the wider community. Clubs that are relevant to your area of study are also great. I highly recommend the Business and Commerce Student Society (BCSS) and Monash Marketing Student Society (MMSS) to every Monash Marketing student. Their networking events provide you with a great opportunity to meet employers and discuss issues of interest in the industry, so it’s definitely worth joining!