Meet Ariel, a Bachelor of Business and Information Technology student

Hi, my name is Ariel. I’m a 24 year old international student from São Paulo, Brazil, currently in my fifth semester of pursuing a double bachelors degree of Business and Information Technology at Monash University. I chose Monash for its exceptional standing in the global rankings, state of the art facilities, and ground-breaking research that propels technological advancements and innovation to new heights. The University's wide range of clubs and activities have also been beneficial to me as they provide opportunities to interact with people from diverse nationalities, and gain exposure to various cultures and experiences.

A day in my life starts off by waking up early in the morning, around 7.30am, preparing a nice breakfast, watering my venus flytrap and catching up with all of the news that happened around the world while I was asleep.

For breakfast, I usually have a cappuccino or chocolate milk, fruit and some eggs. Today, I was inspired, so I made myself a pastrami sandwich as well. I get dressed, pack my things for the day, always ensuring I have chargers and a power bank in case my phone or laptop dies.

Since I live quite close to Caulfield campus, I usually take advantage of the shuttle bus whenever I need to get to Clayton campus. I tend to arrive early to class, either to revise content or socialise with friends who are doing the same units as I am.

First class of the day is Databases, which I'm pretty sure everyone can agree it's a challenging unit, but luckily I have a great group with supportive teammates who are working together to develop a logical model.

After class, I typically get some sushi from the Campus Centre; a nice quick bite before I workout at the outdoor gym, along with my fellow Monash Calisthenics community members. This was probably one of the best parts of my day, as I get to workout using my bodyweight, while at the same time helping others achieve their own fitness goals.

Workout finished, I changed clothes and headed to my second class of the day, Systems Development. It's a three hour tutorial that can go by really slow sometimes, but thankfully I made some good mates in that class who are incredible people to be around.

By the time the tutorial is done, it’s already dark outside. I got the shuttle bus back to Caulfield and walked home. I usually use this time to call my family and friends that are abroad, and catch up with them.

Today however, instead of preparing dinner as initially planned, I decided to stop by an Asian cuisine restaurant which serves a killer Tonkatsu Ramen.

Once I’m home, I often like to sit down for a few minutes and reflect on everything that is going on in my life, valuing and appreciating the little things that we take for granted from time to time. I then reviewed what I learned in class, worked on pending assignments, and prepared to go to bed.

Meet Aryan, a Bachelor of Psychology student

Hi, I’m Aryan! I’m a second year student pursuing my bachelor’s in psychology. The psychology course at Monash is very diverse, which excited me as I wanted to learn as much as I can about psychology. The course structure encourages collaboration, but also has an important emphasis on independent work, which is something I have always struggled with. I wanted to challenge myself to develop a strong discipline in my life by completing this course successfully.

Here’s a little bit about my day…

To help me wake up, I use an alarm app which won’t switch off until I do some mathematical sums and scan a picture stuck on my bathroom wall. The reason why I wake up early is to get some studying done, as I find it more challenging to focus on my studies at other times of the day. I have a separate device I use for my alarm, as I don’t want to look at my phone in the morning and get sidetracked.

As soon as I switched off my alarm, I folded my blanket so I could reduce the urge to go back to bed. I usually give myself 10-20 mins to overcome my sleep grogginess, but I felt less groggy today and started early. I have an exam coming up in two weeks and an assignment due next week. I started studying with some material for my exam first and will work on my assignment later. I study in pomodoro sessions and have a timer with me to help keep track of them. To help me stay awake and not feel drowsy, I listened to a custom playlist while studying. During my morning study sessions, I can get really hungry, so I kept a banana and some biscuit packets ready for me in the morning, before going to sleep every night.

Before leaving for the gym, I spent some time with my cousins as I’m living with my uncle. My cousins are young and are on holidays right now, so I like to check up on how they’re feeling and see if they’ve had anything for breakfast yet. I try to go to the gym almost every day around this time, as it helps me take a break from my studies and work on my fitness goals. The gym is right next to where I live right now, so I can walk there in under a minute. I usually exercise for an hour to an hour and a half, but I took a little longer today as I was revising some of my techniques. After each exercise, I always log my performance in my gym journal on my phone, which allows me to keep track of my progress and helps me know how I can improve in the future.

After coming back from the gym, I quickly made my breakfast. My breakfast post-gym always includes two vegan sausages and a chocolate milk drink, rich in proteins. I really enjoy eating breakfast and looking outside my window, planning the rest of my day in my head or thinking about any past memories or fun ideas.

After eating breakfast, I washed my dishes and started preparing for university. I planned on eating out today so I didn’t have to prepare lunch. Before I left for the gym, I laid out my clothes so I could rush straight to the bathroom without wasting any time. However, as our exam timetable was coming out today, I checked my emails before getting dressed. I found out my exam is scheduled for the first day, which I’m really happy about as that means I get a longer holiday over the winter break. After this, I brushed my teeth, took a shower and got dressed. I packed up my bag with all the essential things I needed today. I’m planning on applying for work around different outlets on campus today, so I made sure to pack my folder with printed copies of my resume. I checked up again on my cousins and left to take the bus.

My bus takes me directly to campus. As my bus stop is a kilometre away from my house, I did some exercises for my forearm muscles using a hand-grip. I didn’t listen to music on my way to the bus stop as I like to enjoy the company of my thoughts during my walk. Not listening to music also helped me notice more things about the nature around me which I really love.

I don’t live very far from Monash, so it only takes around 15-20 mins for me to get there. During my bus ride, I usually catch up with my close friends, check my emails or check my club’s messages. I’m a part of the Psychology and Neuroscience Club committee. Today, I was also planning to collect my brain scans from a research project I participated in for the Monash Biomedical Imaging, but unexpectedly the buttons to stop the bus next to me weren't working. So I missed my stop, and now have to reschedule the pick up of my scans for later in the week.

As soon as I got to campus, I started applying for jobs. I also applied to more places than I was going to, so I had to print out more copies of my resume. I spent 20 mins handwriting some additional information and then went back to my job hunt. In the midst of all this, I randomly met some friends and people I know, and had a small catch up with them. I decided to grab lunch from Schnitz, and since I was running late, I planned to eat it during my upcoming group project meeting. While waiting for my lunch, I had a quick chat with my mum. As I have a busy day today, I told her that I will speak with her more tomorrow.

Next, I had my group project meeting. During our meeting, we discussed our upcoming group assignment and finalised our individual responsibilities and deadlines. My group members are really nice, so we all took things easy and I ate my lunch, a chicken burger from Schnitz, and boy was it delicious! I also had some time to plan my day for tomorrow, so I squeezed that in while my group was relaxing.

One of my classes got pushed to today, from 5-7pm, which was right before another class in the same room, from 7-9pm. I chose this 7-9pm timing as it gives me the whole day to myself. The tutorials were really great, and we had some nice discussions regarding our future assignments and current topics. I also met a good friend of mine during my first tutorial. Though they were nice, it got really tiring having back to back tutorials. Although, my first tutorial ended early so that gave me some time to relax.

I was in the mood for some music, so I listened to some while on my way back home on the bus. After reaching my stop, I noticed the night sky today was really clear and I got to see a bunch of stars. I love stars, and whenever I get to see them it really pumps me up. On my walk back home, I saw a person riding their bicycle up a hill and could see how hard they were trying. And for some reason that really motivated me to try and catch up to them, so I decided to run half way to my home. I didn’t catch up with them, but I had a fun time running.

By the time I got home, I was starving and I was grateful my uncle had dinner prepared for me. I quickly unpacked and got into my comfortable clothes. My uncle made tacos, which I really enjoy, and I ate them while watching my cousins play Fifa with a friend who had come over for a sleepover. After finishing dinner, I put on my acne cream, and caught up on some of my messages on my laptop. I don’t have all social media apps on my phone, as when I am procrastinating, I have a hard time self-controlling myself and end up spending a lot of time on them.

After this, as I am done planning my day for tomorrow, I quickly filled up my water bottles and prepared a plate with a banana and biscuits for the next morning. I then read a book. I’m trying to build a habit of reading three pages of a book every day, so I try to read my book every day, whenever I can find a little bit of time. Before sleeping, I updated the progress of the habits I am trying to build. It allowed me to see which habits I have been slacking on and motivated me to keep them up. I then meditated. I’m also trying to build this habit, and I’m just a beginner right now so I used some guided meditations. After meditating for five to ten minutes, I went to sleep and ensured to keep my phone away from me so it doesn’t distract me from sleeping.

Meet Melissa, a Master of Strategic Communications Management student

Hi! My name is Melissa and I’m currently in my first semester of a Master of Strategic Communications Management at Monash University. I’ve been at Monash since my three year undergraduate program where I completed a degree in Arts, specialising in Journalism and Japanese. I’ve chosen Monash, not only for its communication facilities, but also for the valuable connections and activities offered here in building my portfolio and skillset. This has successfully led me to my current commercial journalist position in News Corp Australia.

Being busy and having a hectic schedule means I usually try to get up as early as I can. Since I had a tutorial at 10am this morning, I made sure to set my alarm for around 8.00 to 8.30am, to give myself some time to get ready without having to rush out of the door. Of course, being the paranoid student I am, I firstly checked my Monash study app to make sure I had the right tutorial time. Today was an especially important day as I had a group presentation due and I didn’t want to be that one member who gave everyone else in the group anxiety first thing in the morning. So after freshening up and putting on an outfit that was both cosy, and hopefully as cute as it could get, I made myself a nice bowl of oatmeal with soy milk and some coffee, packed my bag, made sure all the switches were off, and left for class.

My team and I had spent a few weeks on the project we were presenting today, so I was rather confident we would do well, and we did! The tutor loved it and we were beaming over the positive feedback.

Now, one of the perks of having postgraduate tutorials is how long they are - usually around three hours. While this might not seem appealing to some, I personally really enjoy it because I get to immerse myself in the topics. Plus, I was really lucky with this unit, as I had the sweetest tutor and a great table of friends. I actually became really good friends with the team I did the presentation project with! Unfortunately, this unit only lasted for six weeks, and today happened to be the last day for the tutorials.

So after a busy morning of preparing for the tutorial and presentations, my team members and I decided to hit up Chadstone, which is relatively nearby Caulfield campus, to have some lunch and shop around a little. We’re a pretty multicultural group, with one being from Thailand, another from China, and me from Malaysia. It was really great to have a chat outside of our tutorial time about topics like what our plans are after our graduate course, what we found interesting ever since starting our studies in Australia, and much more. Of course, shopping was also part of our day out, and I got myself some recommended Korean skincare goodies and a kalimba that I’ve been itching to get my hands on ever since lockdowns!

After an afternoon of shopping until our feet ached, we made our way to the city to meet up with friends to eat at an Iranian restaurant where I had ‘koobideh’ for the first time. Again, one of the best parts of having a social circle from different countries and walks of life!

We talked and laughed all evening about the stressful moments we’ve encountered when working on assignments (a truly popular topic for chatter among university students!). We also got to know more about each other, our different countries, languages and cultures, and talked about plans for which cuisine we should all head out to eat together next.

With our different intakes and plans for master’s, and while I may not be able to take the same classes with these same people again in the near future, it’s amazing to think how I’ve managed to get a great group of friends through a unit that only lasted for an incredibly short period of time. I’m really grateful for that!

Meet An, a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Marketing student

Hi there! I'm An, an international student from Vietnam. I’m currently in my final year, pursuing a double degree in business with a major in international business, as well as marketing.

When I was in year 11, I attended Monash Open Day with some of my friends, and was amazed by the scale of the event and the facilities. It was the first time that I stepped onto Clayton campus, and there were just so many things to see and explore. During my visit, I did a lot of exploration, and had a chance to talk to different faculties to learn more about the courses offered. Through that experience, I learned that I could pursue a double degree in any areas of interest, and that was one of the important factors that led me to decide to study here. I wanted to have flexibility in my study options. Additionally, I wanted to pursue a double degree because I believe it can offer more career opportunities in the future.

Throughout my time here, I’ve appreciated how Monash consistently provides various forms of support for current students, whether it’s academic, or preparing for future careers. During my first year, when I had trouble understanding content from the Foundation of Finance unit, I attended consultations to ask the teaching staff questions and get my queries resolved.

As a marketing student, I think it’s really important to gain industry experience. 

Outside of the classroom, Monash also provides students with opportunities for industry experience through their internship unit. So last year, I took a few internship units, and different internships provided me with various learnings, which contributed to my professional experiences. My most recent internship unit was over the summer semester, where the Monash Industry Experience team connected me with a company called iBuild, located in Mulgrave. Throughout my internship, I worked closely with the marketing team on various tasks such as writing blogs, assisting with developing the monthly newsletter, and planning monthly social media posts. This internship allowed me to develop practical skills and knowledge, as well as soft skills such as time management and communication. I believe that internship units are important learning experiences for all students.

I’d love to show you a little bit of student life through my day at the Caulfield campus. 

On Friday, it’s usually the day I have most of my classes on campus. In the morning, I have marketing law from 10.00am - 11.30am. It’s a fascinating class where we use different case law to critically analyse situations, and learn how to apply the law to protect your product, design, trademarks, etc.

After that class, I head over to the library to do some study. The Caulfield library is the perfect place to get things done. You can sit in a quiet area if you really need to focus on your work. Otherwise, there are areas where you can chat with your friends, or you can book a discussion room to complete a group project. While at the library, I managed to complete some pre-class works for my international management unit by completing the lecture and reading relevant materials.

Afterwards, I head to the student lounge to have lunch with my friends. Unfortunately, my friends can only have a quick lunch before their next class starts. The student lounge in the K Building recently opened last year, and it’s a cosy and casual place to have lunch and catch up with your friends.

After lunch, I head to my last class of the day, strategic marketing from 3-6pm. In this tutorial session, we engage in a collaborative case study, working together to identify challenges and brainstorm potential strategies. It's always insightful to hear different perspectives and ideas from my classmates.

After that class, it’s home time for me, and that concludes my day on campus. I always love to come to the campus; it’s always motivating for me to see other students at the University. Also, I love the teaching style at Monash as well, it’s a collaborating environment and allows me to apply theory to practice.