A day in the life of an international student
STUDENT INTERVIEWS
By Poorva Anand, International Student (on-shore) – Master of Commerce
My name is Poorva, and I'd like to give you a look at the day in the life of an online university student. Like many other students, I hadn’t planned on taking courses online, but then the pandemic happened and I had to figure out how to sort out my life (which let me tell you wasn’t easy). But I’ve quickly found that it is doable and can be stress-free once you get organised and know your responsibilities for each day.
Follow along below to see what a normal Thursday in my life looks like.
8:00 am
I get up and get ready for the day and eat some breakfast. With online classes, you don’t have the most strict schedule, nor do you spend any time walking (or running) to class like we normally would on campus. Breakfast has become increasingly important for me to get through these first few hours of the day filled with classes. It helps to keep me focused and on task until I can take a break after class.
9:30 am
My class starts at 11 am, so I usually sit down and get some homework done before class and make to-do lists or cross out stuff from my pre-made to-do lists of tasks I have got to get done this week. I usually get distracted very easily, so I try to switch off my phone and avoid any distractions so that I can concentrate properly during this time.
11:00 am
Time for class! I have a 3 hours class most days as that's how my FinTech classes are structured. Due to the flexibility of when I can have classes I usually like to pick them either around this time or later in the evening around 6 pm as those are the times I can concentrate the most. During the 3 hours of a lecture, I usually munch on some nuts so that I don’t fall asleep, and I also try to actively participate in class by clarifying any of my doubts.
1:00 pm
Class is finally over! Now it's time to eat some lunch! Most days I eat Indian food such as lentils and rice that my mom has prepared for me. After this I either watch a movie to just relax my brain or take a nice 30 mins power nap with the sun shining on my face. I am honestly telling you afternoon naps are the absolute best hahaha.
2:30 pm
Usually, at this time I have a group project meeting for one of my classes. So I open Microsoft Teams and start a call with my teammates where we reflect on what we have already done and what we are planning to do in the upcoming weeks. We also formulate any questions we want to ask our Professor to clarify any doubts or concerns.
3:30 pm
After my meeting, I either spend time doing some homework or work for my internship. These days I am working for the City of Sydney as an International Student Fellow. This is a 2 year fellowship program during which ambassadors are mentored and supported by the City of Sydney to develop and implement projects to address the needs of international student communities. These include networking events, leadership conferences, employment panels, and sports events. Currently, I am working on our discord social channel which will be open for all international students to join, and we will be hosting games nights, cooking sessions, study sessions, and much more on it.
5:00 pm
It's 5 pm, and now it's time for my society meeting! I am currently part of multiple societies and organisations on campus such as the UNSW Marketing Analytics Society, The Chillout Mental Health Project, the Cultural Mentor Program, and finally, the UNSW Hindu Society, whose meeting I have every Thursday from 5-6pm and then an event that I organize with my team from 6-8pm! While society meetings are different for all societies, HinduSoc does it by updating the whole exec about each of their departments. I am personally a Co-Events and the Marketing Coordinator so I give my team updates regarding both those departments. After the meeting, for our event we have a variety of events, our most recent one was a games night where we played codenames, scribblio, and among us!
8:00 pm
After a busy day filled with classes and meetings, now I eat dinner with my family and just catch up on what has been new in everyone's day. We also tend to watch a movie together for 30 mins while we are eating.
9:00 pm
After eating dinner I like to go on a walk around my neighbourhood. During this time I either reflect on my day and blast some Punjabi music in my ears or I call my friends and check up on them and just gossip about stuff hahaha.
And that’s my day! Even though studying online has had it’s challenges, there are so many opportunities to connect with other students or get involved with something that could enhance your employability skills too! And finally (and most importantly), make sure you take time to relax and recharge to keep you mentally fresh each day.
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