Business As Usual

Every Wednesday morning the Monash Student Association runs a free breakfast on campus, so I went there today to grab a hash brown and eggs on bread. They usually have bacon, too, but I arrived too late and they had already run out.

I spent the rest of the morning studying Business Law in the Commerce Scholars room with a nice, warm cup of chai latte.

I then attended my Intermediate Macroeconomics tutorial, where we got back our mid-semester tests. My score wasn't great, but the tutor told us that it was a difficult test and that a lot of people failed, so I’m glad that I managed to pass (even if just barely). In the past, I probably would have been shattered about my mark for weeks, but I've learned that a bad grade is not the end of the world; you just have to learn from your mistakes and try harder next time.

Wednesday afternoon is when my anime club runs our weekly screenings in the Campus Centre Cinema. That's right, the university has its own cinema! Though it's not a commercial cinema, it has the same type of large screen and comfy seating that you'd find in a regular cinema, so it's the perfect place for our club to show new anime episodes to our members each week.

Finally, at 6pm, I had my Business Law test (it's not uncommon for large subjects to hold tests after hours, as to ensure that everyone sits the test at the same time). I'm not sure how well I did, but there's no use dwelling on that now. Time to get to work on some homework!

Today I attended two meetings as part of the Clubs & Societies Executive. The first was a misconduct hearing, which is held if a club has committed an act of misconduct and we have to call them in to judge whether they should be penalised. As they’re confidential, I can't discuss the details of today’s hearing here! The second meeting was our regular weekly executive meeting, where we handle correspondence, approve (or reject) requests from clubs, and discuss other general business relating to clubs.

I also had a Business Law tutorial earlier today. My assigned tutorial time was actually during the misconduct hearing, so I went to a different tutorial. Most tutors are quite flexible and understanding, so if you can't make it to a certain class one week, just let them know and try to attend an alternative one.

At the end of the day I went to gymnastics training, which runs every week during semester at Monash Sport, except during the school holidays, so we haven't had a session for the past two weeks. It's quite casual, which is great for me especially since I started last year as a complete beginner and I'm still not very good. But I can now hold handstands against the wall decently, and I can sometimes hold handstands on the ground for about a second or so. Even though I can’t do much, it’s still a lot of fun, despite the fact that I’m sure to be quite sore tomorrow!

Back at uni today after the mid-semester break! For me, however, it wasn’t much of a break.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, I was at the PwC Preview Program, and last Thursday and Friday, I was at the KPMG Foundations Program. They’re both development programs involving workshops and activities that take place at the firm’s offices to give you an insight into that firm. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it to first-year students.

Also, as I’m on the anime club committee at Monash, I attended an anime convention called Animaga the previous Saturday. I also attended a cocktail night run by our club last Thursday night, and a ramen eating competition that our club participated in yesterday.

As you can see, I didn't have much time to catch up on study over the break!

I don’t actually have any classes on Mondays, but I came into uni this afternoon for my weekly committee meeting for the anime club. We run many different events during the semester, so there’s always a lot to discuss.

Afterwards, my best friend and I watched the new episode of Once Upon A Time together in the private study room that I share with the other Commerce Scholars Program students. It’s actually my favourite part of being in the program. We get to have our own room, which comes with computers, free printing, and comfy couches (great for napping between classes!)


Now I’m home and it’s time for me to study for the Business Law test I have on Wednesday!

And so the mid-semester break has arrived! After nine weeks of hitting the books hard, I think it's time to enjoy a little R&R.

I mentioned in my last post that on Thursday of this week I was going to listen to Alex Malley (CEO of CPA Australia). The workshop and masterclass I attended were both excellent. He provided great insight into the difficult transition from university life into the workforce, something I'm about to embark on. His message of building a big life, pushing fear and embarrassment aside, especially resonated with me. I know that I can achieve a lot, in both my personal and professional life, but I also know that to achieve this, I'll need to put my head out there, follow my dreams and accept that sometimes I may fall short. But this is okay, so long as I've given it my best shot!

As for what's to come, I think I might catch a movie tonight and enjoy some rest time this weekend. Next week I've got a couple workshops for the BUSECO PAL Leader's Program on Project Management and Leadership - I'm looking forward to these. I'll probably also have to hit the books at some stage, but I'm happy to keep that out of mind for just the time being.

As for the rest of the year, I'll enjoy my last 3 weeks of undergraduate study and hopefully my last set of exams for a while. After this, out into the real world to put my studies into practice!

To everyone heading into exams soon - I wish you all the best! And to everyone who's about to make a big change - high-school to university, university to the workforce, or job to job - I hope this a truly challenging, but rewarding transition in your life.

Tuesday is my designated uni society day. Being the Publications Director at both the Economics Student Society of Australia (ESSA) and Amnesty Monash allows me to actively engage with like-minded students to encourage interesting economics and human rights discussion. I’ve certainly learnt lots of things in our discussions that we would not have thought up in the tutorial room!

I had two lots of meetings today for ESSA. First was a publications meeting which I chair. Here, our team strategised what we have planned for the rest of the semester. Aside from looking to improve our website articles, we’re working on our annual print publication, Equilibrium. Equilibrium is usually published later in the semester, highlighting ESSA’s work over the year, and featuring articles from our writers, academics and sponsors alike. With a successful launch last year, we’re looking to make Equilibrium bigger and better this year!

The second was a general Monash committee meeting. The main focus of the meeting was to plan for our signature event of the year, our ESSA Q&A. At #essaqanda we invite prominent industry professionals to discuss topical economics issues, just like the format for the TV version on the ABC! Lots of exciting things happening at ESSA this semester, so get along to one of our events if you can!

Between these meetings, I did some editing for Amnesty. This is the most interesting part of my role; I’m always learning something new every time I read a new article. To think that these pieces are written by undergraduates is frightening (in a good way, of course)!

If you’re interested in some of the work that we do, check out the ESSA website and the Amnesty website.

Forming a circle and holding out our hands, we proudly call the name of our Cheerleading Club. Tonight, the beautifully talented Open University Pom Team members and I had our weekly training session with our amazing coaches: Jodie and Margarita.

We have been practicing hard to get ready for our first two competitions: the Australian All Star Cheer and Dance Championships Winterfest, which will be held at the end of June, and the Southern University Games in early July. I AM SOOO EXCITED!!!

I still have a lot of room for improvement and so many skills to learn, however my dedicated coaches and my enthusiastic girls have been very willing and more than happy to help me practice. We are still a new team, but we all share the same passion and commitment. I guarantee that we are trying our best to keep up the Mystics' legacy (one of the teams were undefeated last year!) and I feel very happy and lucky to be a part of this family.

Most of the girls have strong dancing backgrounds, but what is more impressive is their passion for dancing. One would easily fall in love with them if they saw how much they really enjoy dancing. I used to dance, sing, and give many performances when I was younger, even joining the APAC Choir. I stopped properly dancing three years ago, but certainly felt something lacking. Although I had never been trained as intensely and professionally as the other girls in the team, dancing has always been a part of my life – similar to eating, sleeping and studying. Thanks to Monash Mystics, I now have a chance to keep up my passion. I feel very happy, healthy and active. I usually can’t wait for the next training session.

By the way. There are many clubs and societies at uni where you can meet people who share the same passions, like singing, debating, reading manga, drawing or even eating chocolate! Being a part of a club or society definitely helps keep up passions, develop new skills and expand the social networks :)

Today my fellow BusEco PAL 2014 Ambassadors and I had our ninth, and also last, meeting with our seven first-year mentees. And guess what we had – a boring meeting where our mentees were interviewed about how they were doing? Nah! Instead, we were all chatting and eating lots of brownies, cupcakes, Kit Kats, Cadbury blocks, homemade cookies, green tea, cookies and candy! Each of us brought something to eat, and together we enjoyed the small farewell party. Of course, we will still be seeing each other around uni and hanging out together as friends. However after our last meeting today, the Peer Mentor Program has ended and we are no longer officially responsible for their transition into uni life.

I am very proud and happy to see how well my mentees are doing at Monash and I hope that our advice has been helpful. We’ve all become close friends and now they can enjoy their uni life to the max!

My mentees reminded me of my first year at uni. Everything was new, interesting and exciting! However, I felt nervous at the same time as the new environment was strange and there was so much to learn. Nevertheless, I went through all challenges and I had so much fun. Some of the most supportive people were my awesome friends and my amazing mentors, who I met during the Orientation Week. We’ve all become really close and some have proved to feel like family now.

The main reason my five closest friends and I became so close was through the Peer Mentor Program together. We were taken care of by three really nice mentors and we had opportunities to catch up every week. Our mentors gave us lots of good advice and encouragements for our studies and our social lives at Monash, making the program very meaningful!

As many of you are well aware, Monash University is a sea of opportunity when it comes to campus clubs and societies. The best way to get the most out of your university experience is to immerse yourself into the unknown, meet new people and develop new networks and relationships. From the expansive force, which is the Monash Marketing Society to the future stars of Monash Health Science Society, there is most certainly a club for everyone.

So what do these clubs do for you? Well as a club member myself, we are all about making your university experience unique, moving away from the general attendance that makes up lectures and tutes, to more fun filled activities which incorporate the social opportunities that would otherwise be absent. From mid week barbeques, afternoon/morning teas, numerous balls and networking nights, club reps and members are working overtime to ensure that there is always something to tickle your fancy. Week 9 in itself has seen some fantastic initiatives such as the MHSS Afternoon Tea, which was able to donate a substantial amount in support of Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. Congratulations to Courtney Wishart and her support crew for this fantastic achievement.

But like everything, it is you – THE STUDENT – who makes it all the worthwhile. You have the power to transform something little into something great. So help us to help you and get behind your society!

Wednesday. Wednesday means Mid Week Meat for me. MWM is the weekly BBQ that MONSU runs for students on the lawn.

Since we've got an event this week, MWM was accompanied by a few performing acts and a mechanical bull ride too! The environment had a very relaxed yet exciting vibe about it. As usual, I was the main cook for the BBQ, but I was glad to see the number of students wanting to participate and help out, so I gave them a few tasks to feel special.

After I helped cook the first batch of sausages, I had to go straight to my Investment Banking mid semester test. I was very nervous coming in to the test because of my lack of preparation. However, to my delight and relief, the questions that were asked were the questions I focused on. I guess I think like a lecturer.

After the test, I had a go at the mechanical bull to relieve my stress. Stress was definitely relieved since endorphins were rushing after that session. Furthermore, to keep the feel-good attitude, I did a little bit of exercise on the outdoor equipment between Building K and Building N. I really believe exercise key for a healthy and alert mind.

Today was a good day.

Tuesday is my fullest day in the week with the most classes packed into it. I tried to distribute classes evenly throughout the week, however Allocate wasn’t kind to me this semester.

Anyway, I am also a PASS leader for Microeconomics, which is fun, and some of my students had their mid semester test today. There were mixed feelings on how ready each student was feeling, however I had confidence in my teachings and reassured them that they will do well – like a mother duck letting her little ducks go over the hill and far away… Only more endearing, of course.

I also had a council meeting today for MONSU. It was very thorough and informative. You can really see behind the scenes of the parties, activities and services and see that there is a lot of planning and effort put into enhancing the student experience at uni.

Finally, my second in-class test for Personal Financial Planning was today. I have another mid semester test tomorrow for Investment Banking. It's all about prioritising study time and allocating time fairly between the two. Tip: Start studying early or have ongoing familiarisation – it’s very helpful!

Peace.

Another day off from uni, filled with studying, socialising and committee meetings. I decided that today would be my “unofficial catch up on assignments day’’. So after having my daily oats for breakfast, I drove to uni full of energy and hopefulness that today would be the day that I “broke the back” of my assignments.

Unfortunately, finding a park today proved to be a challenge, but my persistence eventually paid off (15 minutes later…). I then walked purposefully towards to the library with one thing on my mind: assignments! Thankfully I found a seat relatively quickly and started researching the effectiveness of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in facilitation international trade. This research legal memorandum is worth 30% of my total mark and is due next week. On top of this, I was also working on a 7,000 word research proposal for business law and taxation.

After spending some time researching I decided to take a break and catch up with one of my girlfriends. We then decided to study together and before I knew it I was required to attend and chair the Monash Entrepreneurs committee meeting. Key topics of discussion included cash management, sponsorship opportunities and upcoming event proposals. We also discussed the successes of the entrepreneurs event last week where the founder of Moshi Electronics spoke to the entrepreneurial community about his greatest successes and realisations.

After my committee meeting I decided to go shopping and relax. I then went home to continue working on my assignments.