Business As Usual

In the midst of all my assignments I'm currently attempting to do, of course my body decides to get sick! Perfect timing...

Since it’s Week 10, everyone's trying to encourage me by telling me that there’s only two weeks left until the end of the semester. So, in an attempt to get better, I have given in to my best friend – my bed. Happy Week 10!

What a change from last week!

Weak 10 has definitely brought with it a lot of craziness and stress. I have found myself piled under assignments to be due in the last few weeks of the semester - save me! I know it’s only Tuesday, but I’m way too excited for the weekend to come.

Since I don’t have uni on Wednesdays, I usually go to work. However I wasn’t rostered on this week, so with the spare time I went shopping yesterday instead!

Now, I can’t believe it’s Thursday and the week’s almost over. So I am back to concentrating on assignments, which are due next week. Busy next few weeks are ahead!

Week 9 is usually a struggle for most university students. However, I am finding this week a breeze! I have no assignments or any tasks due this week. So with the extra time, I spent today catching up on lecture notes and starting to organise myself for exam preparation.

My name is Kimberley Giuffre. I am studying a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in Marketing. This is my second year and I am loving it! This course is a great start for anyone interested in business.

In my time at Monash, I have volunteered as a student ambassador for Open Day at the Berwick campus, which was a great way to meet new people and share my experiences. Outside of university I work quite a lot at my part-time job, and I also enjoy exploring new places with my family and friends in my spare time!

EXAMS! ASSIGNMENTS! Oh nooo! But as long as I do the work consistently every week and get some extra help from my lecturers, tutors and librarians, I should be fine… If you couldn’t tell, I utilise all sources of assistance!

I had my Business Law workshop today, which once again boosted my confidence and relieved my worries for studying this subject. Ask anyone, and they will tell you how challenging the subject is! I personally think that Business Law is interesting, however it requires a lot of time, effort and, of course, a strategic approach. Luckily, lovely librarians visited our lecture at the beginning of the semester to show us how to take notes and study for the subject.

During the semester the librarians run very helpful workshops, which have definitely facilitated my studying. They also provide workshops for several other core units, such as Marketing and Management, which I highly appreciate. They teach us how to effectively take notes, write a university essay, do research for an assignment, and how to prepare for an open book exam. I found the workshops very worthwhile when transitioning into the uni studying style.

The librarians are lovely and helpful. I even have a favourite one – Ms. Tami Castillo. I consider myself very lucky to have met her and to have her assist me with my assignments. I struggled with my expression during my first year at uni, especially since Vietnamese is my first language and English is my second. So as soon as I properly started studying Chinese at Monash, the three languages mixed up! I was disappointed and frustrated as I could not express my ideas in a concise and effective way, losing marks because of my expression.

Fortunately, I went to many drop-in sessions provided by Matheson librarians and got help from them, especially Tami, who helped me with my English academic expression through discussions. I have definitely made progress, mostly thanks to Tami. What makes me feel even more touched and grateful is her patience, dedication and willingness to help beyond her academic advice. Academic assistance is also amazing because of the time I save, meaning I have more time for other extracurricular activities :)

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!

Hi, my name is Thien Kim Vu. I am from Vietnam and I am currently in my second year. I am a proud BusEco PAL 2014 ambassador and a Pom Pom dancer for the Monash Mystics 2014 Open University Pom team. My hobbies include babysitting my little brothers, dancing, playing piano, painting, drawing, cooking, swimming and doing Pilates.
The main goal of my life is to live healthily and happily, not only for myself but also for anyone who cares about me and put hope into me.