Business As Usual

Despite the high-octane charge (some might call chaos) that makes the day, I enjoyed every minute of it. Volunteering as a BusEco Open Day Leader this year has provided me with the opportunity to develop my leadership skills and also share my uni experience with the next group of school leavers. There were many bright students and though the slogan might be a little cliché, it is true that Monash is the place where brilliance begins. How do I know this? The brilliant smiles of all our volunteers who warmly welcomed the new faces to our campus, eager for them to experience what we, the current students, enjoy or even take for granted.

Getting involved in the lead up to the BIG day allowed me to stretch myself; writing for this blog for example. This is definitely not something I would have considered in the past. Engineering students have a reputation for being people of too few words - keep it brief, even cryptic - in the written context, of course.

University is much more than studying and graduating with a degree, the opportunities to grow in so many aspects of life are limitless. All you have to do is get involved and make the most of every day. I hope that those of you who came along to Open Day got a glimpse of the exciting summits you can target in uni life and Monash. Until you open the door to your future, you will never know what awaits you on the other side.

As this is my last entry, I wish you all the best with your upcoming exams.

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 was a very different and exciting day for me because I attended an Assessment Centre for a Commerce Graduate Program that I had applied for. This was very different to my usual Monday seminar at uni. At first I was a little bit nervous about what to expect from today’s assessments, but I was also very excited at the opportunity to attend this Assessment Centre and the opportunities it will provide me with.

The first part of today included a group assessment and we had to discuss a case study that was provided. In a group of six, we had to come to a conclusion based on the information that we had and we had an hour to choose one of the options that we were given. Every twenty minutes breaking news was given to us and we had to take this into consideration and re-evaluate our decisions. I found this exercise to be very similar to the case studies that I looked at in my tutorials and I was glad that I had done comparable group work during my degree, and that I was able to apply the knowledge that I had gained from these past experiences.

The second part of the Assessment Centre was an individual interview that lasted an hour and was based on competencies and technical abilities. I found this part to also be very interesting and I was able to apply knowledge that I had gained throughout my four years at uni. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see what feedback I will receive from my performance at the Assessment Centre.

Whatever the outcome will be, today was a very beneficial and informative experience for me and I was able to learn a lot about what companies look for and what the future might hold for me after I finish my degree at the end of this semester :)

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!

Today was Commerce Scholars Day at Monash Caulfield – you might have noticed that Building H was flooded by around 200 eager students from 20 different secondary schools.

The high-flying students were invited to come along and participate in master classes and course information sessions run by the Business and Economics Faculty, giving us a chance to show off our faculty’s amazing resources and impress them with plentiful free food.

The PALs (student ambassadors), Tom (my fellow intern) and I had the chance to avail the students of our tertiary wisdom in the course information sessions, skilfully handling some quirky lines of questioning – such as likening internships to slave labour! (Hahaha, I certainly wouldn’t go that far!)….

Working as an intern is every student’s dream right? I mean, in that great big pool of talented graduates we all want a way to differentiate ourselves, and something like an internship is just the ticket. I am lucky enough to be interning here with the Marketing and Recruitment Group at Monash Caulfield for semester one. Let me tell you that apart from the resume bolstering this has been a great opportunity – not only to learn how to data merge letters, but to learn a lot about myself and meet some great people.

Although this afternoon consisted of the stock-standard intern duties, like preparing and alphabetizing name tags, every day so far has been different. I have also been surprised by the level of responsibility I have been given whilst interning here. It has given me a real insight into life after uni.

I woke up this morning feeling very tired and nervous because I had an in-class essay assessment later in the day. I thought I had heard the last of one-hour essays in Year 12, but Human Resource Management is all about reading and writing. I actually have an 8am lecture for HRM, but there was no way I would attend today - thankfully it’s a recorded lecture!

Before my class, I decided to sit in the quiet section of Caulfield library to have a quick read through my textbook, academic articles and cheat sheet. That section of the library is abnormally quiet, which was good.

Time went by really quickly and soon it was show time! Unfortunately my essay didn’t go according to the elaborate plan I had originally written up. But I did finish on time and the feeling of relief was amazing.

Now time to move along to the three other assessment tasks I have coming up. One of my assignments is worth 40% of my total mark, so I’m definitely going to start early for that!

Today I was in for a surprise because one of my classes was cancelled! That meant I could go home early, but in uni when you miss one class, you have to do A LOT of work to catch up.

I have a lecture at 11 in the morning for Organisational Change and the tutorial straight after. The lecture is so exhausting because the lecturer talks very fast and he mentions a lot of key concepts.

I feel like I’m typing every single second of the hour without a break. At the end of the lecture I realised I typed roughly 3 pages of notes, which is usually the norm for Management subjects – lots of theories and concepts.

After the lecture my friends and I went to the tutorial. I love this class! It’s a two-hour tutorial, so it’s a long time to sit in one spot, but I have my friends to keep me entertained and we always do interactive activities. Last week we were required to make an object using leaves, sticks and anything else we could find from the Caulfield lawn. My group made a cat with a coffee cup we found.

In today’s class, we simulated a Change Consulting Case Study, where I got to be the manager of the “Design Engineering” division of a firm with various problems. Other students pretended to be consultants who come in and devise solutions for the company.

I start uni at 11 today, so I had a bit of a sleep-in this morning! I decided to catch the bus today – the bus loop at Monash is great for public transport and drops you straight at the door.

I had a short class then went to Officeworks to get my notes bound. Handy tip: print out all of your lecture and tute slides and bind them together for each unit!

The thing about being in my last year is the extra work that comes with graduate applications. I'm applying for a few investment banks and the process is quite lengthy, but it gives me an opportunity to exploit my talents. I’ve put some time into finishing these applications every night that I’ve gotten home this week.

Time to go for a run (im super keen on the study-life balance!) so that I'm ready for the days ahead.

Tuesdays are my longest and probably most tiring day of the week this semester! It’s an early morning start for my Monetary Economics lecture at 9am. The traffic is always quite busy so I have to leave extra early. I'd normally park at the Synchrotron, but since I'm here till 6, it looks like I'm going for the all-day parking!

This morning’s lecture was stimulating but challenging to get my head around. Plus, all I could think about was my 10-page case study due this afternoon!

My next class is Financial Law. I really enjoy this class and the concepts are great. Afterwards, I raced to one of the computer rooms at Menzies to work on my case study assignment for Marketing. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I leave things to the last minute like a typical uni student.

Even though I’m stressing about my case study, I still made sure to not miss out on lunch. I love the cafes and places to eat at uni, so I grab something and continue on my case analysis. It takes me ages but I finally get it done!

I have my Monetary Eco tute next, then my three hour Marketing seminar where my case is due. This is one of the most draining times of the day - definately a case of 3.30-itis!

6pm rolls around and I'm finally done for the day.

Perks of being at uni: this is my only full day at uni for the week! Go fourth year!

I stayed home most of the weekend catching up on study because of my birthday last week (I didn’t get much done then!).

I don't have uni on Mondays, so today I worked at my part-time job in a café. I work long hours, open-close, but it allows me to earn a bit of money whilst still studying.

I'll admit, it’s hard maintaining a part-time job whilst also going to uni, but I find it gives me a good work-life balance. Time management is also a red hot go for me!

I love part time work – it’s both rewarding and social. The only bad thing is having to get up at 6.30am on a Monday morning after the weekend!

6pm finally comes around and I'm done for the day. Can't wait for uni tomorrow!

Finally here! After a horrendous flight with multiple delays I am finally in Brussels, and wow it’s cold. I arrived just after midday and took a train to my hotel where I met up with the rest of my team (some people came early and did some travel, but I’ve decided to travel after the conference). We had a few training sessions and then we headed out to dinner at an amazing Belgium waffle restaurant where they had both sweet and savoury waffles, which were absolutely amazing.

After dinner, we went to ‘Night Zero’, which is a social event held at a club in Brussels. There were over a thousand people from all four corners from the world and everyone was keen to hit it up so it was a really enjoyable night.

The next day was quite relaxing. We had a training session run by Harvard at an amazing venue and then ate some double-deep-fried Belgium chips for lunch. That night was the official opening ceremony and included keynote speakers, dancers and musical performers.

Now I’m just getting ready for dinner and another social event called ‘Global Village’ where delegations from various countries set up stalls to show off their national food and culture. It should be really fun! Hope all is well in the land of Aus.

Monash University is sending a delegation of 20 students to compete in the 2014 Harvard World Model UN and I’m lucky enough to be one of them. Monash has been assigned to represent the Republic of South Africa and I will be taking part in the World Bank Committee.

The conference runs for five days, and there are a whole bunch of social events planned for every night which should be great. Also, I’ve decided to stay in Europe for an extra week and meet up with a

friend in Amsterdam which I’m really excited about. However I can’t say that I’m looking forward to this 24 hour long trip from Melbourne to Brussels (stopping over at Abu Dhabi) or the 8 degree days in Brussels.

I will try my hardest to keep you all updated on how it goes!

The FMAA Corporate Cocktails was a really enjoyable and worthwhile night! I learnt a lot from the various firm representatives about their roles in their respective companies and also bits of advice that they could share with us as students. Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of work I had going on, I didn’t end up attending the Institute of Chartered Accountants' Employment Evening.

Having said that, the workload for me has significantly increased in the past week. There’s been a greater focus on team work and group presentations this semester, more so than previous semesters. There are obvious challenges, like finding a suitable time and day to meet with other group members. But I’ve found that starting these types of assessment tasks early on and planning ahead means you will be on top of things (and that you won’t have to rush everything the night before!). I believe that the key to doing well at university is trying to stay on top of things and to always ask questions. It’s always better to ask if you’re unsure than remain silent.

Today was a relatively quiet day, with just a lecture and tutorial on investment banking. The lecture focused on mergers and acquisitions, which was new to me! So far, I'm enjoying the different content I’m learning in my four units - from M&As to issues like corporations in yesterday’s classes. It’s a good mix and so the content is never dull.

Today I had an 8.30 am lecture that was a bit of a struggle to wake up for! Early starts on a Monday morning can be difficult, but nothing a hot chocolate or coffee can’t fix. 

When I arrived at uni on Friday morning, I joined 200 other first year law students anxious to make it to the law basement before 9 am, as we had been told buses would leave at 9 am on the dot. Instead we were informed by our leaders - older law students – that we wouldn’t be leaving until 12 pm. From this, I gathered that by the end of my law degree I will be much more comfortable lying. On our way to Licola, where we would be spending the next two nights, we stopped in Traralgon to load up on supplies for the weekend: alcohol and Maccas. At this point I decided Law camp wouldn’t be like any of my school camps! 

After arriving in Licola and having dinner, we got ready for the first camp activity: trivia. This version of trivia involved opportunities for teams to earn extra points through activities like massaging the judges, which my team declined. If anyone thought this was the weirdest activity they would participate in during  law camp, they were proven wrong the next day, when the Beer Olympics were held. One event involved participants riding each other like horses, and feeding themselves and their horses… 

On Saturday night, the theme was ‘super’. Being enthusiastic Commerce students, my friends and I rejected the superhero angle and instead dressed up as ‘superannuation’, or our interpretation of it - tradies off a superannuation advertisement. 

Law camp was one crazy, tiring and incredibly fun weekend, and I’m looking forward to future Monash events if they’re anything like that!

My second day included my first tutorial, which I made sure I allocated some extra time for so I could find the room and most likely get lost in the attempt to do so. I got myself to the correct building but as expected, I found myself completely lost somewhere on level six, when I needed to be on level four. Whilst descending the level six staircase I found someone else looking just as lost me who took the very awkward, but very necessary, initiative to ask for help.

My first day of Monash classes has finally arrived! While I was on the tram this morning for my first lecture, I was worried about the amount of information I was about to take in, especially after my 3 month break from study. 

Luckily, there was a friend from secondary school in my first lecture, so at least there was a familiar face. I must admit that having a friend there didn't lead to much encouragement to meet new people, but I’m sure that there will be plenty of opportunities. 

My first lecture reinforced how different uni is to high school. First of all, the lecture theatre was less like a classroom and more like an auditorium. The number of students in the lecture was like my year 11 and year 12 levels combined, all listening to one teacher, with this teacher not knowing anything about me, not even my name. 

It can be a little overwhelming but there were some positives, such as not being singled out by the teacher to answer a question, although I’ve heard I have that to look forward to in my tutorials. You can chew gum and not be told off, and being able to wear whatever you want is always a bonus. 

Sitting in that large auditorium relieved some of my stress over feeling like the new kid as everyone is in the same position. There are 300 people feeling like the new kid, all feeling nervous and all feeling a little lost and overwhelmed. The whole idea of the teacher not knowing my name was a huge reminder that being a university student now means I am responsible for my education and need to become an independent learner, keeping up to date with all tasks and assessments. 

I was relieved after my first lecture, but I’m looking forward to the lectures, tutorials and activities in store for the rest week.