Student Profiles

UCIC has been a welcoming environment to students from different background and culture.

Personally, I already have some connection here in Christchurch but I felt the support from staffs and teachers in helping us learning and fitting into the city, building up new identity for students who have literally flew in to NZ just days / weeks ago.

The learning from the courses is well organised to immerse ourselves into the academic environment in UC, all the way from introduction to mastering your way in navigating the help available in UC for a better success.

I am happy to be part of the journey of learning and adapting the new environment not just for myself, but other younger students in UCIC. As a pre-master student, we are generally older than the other students in UCIC. Being able to talk and share our life experiences are both rewarding and provided a nice way to reflect with a different perspective.

I think every person in UCIC have their fair share of support and guidance along the way. From Angelina, Emma, Suzette, and Ian who handled the initial journey of enrolment. To Brittany, Mahmah, Dave, and Zak who went into great depth to ensure that we are well equipped to our journey in UC.

The courses and activities are really helpful to equip us both in academic settings and the cultural understanding of New Zealand. Even though it is up to the individual to participate, the facilitation of these learning are valuable and thoughtful to all of us.

New Zealand has always been a great country to live in with great nature and peacefulness, especially for us who grew up in big cities with concrete everywhere.

UCSA and various clubs are great places to enjoy your hobbies and to meet friends within a safe space. With the public transport and bike friendly city of Christchurch, one could travel around without the need of car to enjoy the activities around. Of course if you have a friend or two who has a car (like me), it is relatively easy to travel around famous tourist spots like Lake Tekapo, Mt Hutt, or Castle hill for a day or two.

To be learning different cultures from students coming from different countries.

My goal is to complete my pre-master programme in UC and continue my study in MBIS. With classmate who are currently studying in MBIS, gaining insights into what they are experiencing better equip myself for the upcoming challenges while sharing my thoughts to my fellow classmate. Ideally my plan is to build my professional career in Christchurch, brining my knowledge and experience to others alike who might be beginning their journey in IT and business.

I think believing in yourself and actively raising questions to the teacher or staff is a key to success. Remembering this is a safe space for you to learn and adapt before heading into UC, and take advantage of the experiences that teachers has studying in UC previously.

Looking back at the start of my journey at UCIC, I went through a mixed of emotions including excitement (because it was my first time getting a scholarship and living my dream life as an international student), curiosity (as I had so many questions about many things and looked forward to know and learn them), and of course nervousness (because I always wanted to do well in education). The first few weeks was a bit overwhelming (there were many things happening at the same time although I had a plan and was prepared) but also quite motivating (the environment was the opposite of where I used to learn and work at). I think I started to feel the sense of belonging after Week 3 or 4.

The first thing I immediately can think of is personal growth. It includes how I was able to express my ideas in the class, to participate actively, and to be fully engaged with the courses. As a person from a different culture (collectivism, eastern), I learned that being quiet and reserved in class is portrayed as being respectful. But emerging in this new learning environment, I had tried to adjust my learning style. As a result, I would say the improvement was noticeably significant.

The second thing is academic achievement. I was not a the best, most studious, or outstanding student during my high school and bachelor degree years, I used to feel bad or guilty that I never got to push myself to my fullest potential. It is the main reason why I promised myself to try my best at UCIC. As a result of the belief “hard work will pay off”, I achieve a GPA of 9.00. Nevertheless, I will continue to try my best, work toward my goals, be proud of my effort, and still remain humble as always.

I personally appreciate all my teachers (Dave, Brittany, MahMah, Zak), but the one who made my experience at UCIC memorable and more meaningful was Dave. Before coming to NZ, I honestly had some expectations and stereotypical opinions in mind. But I would say Dave played a big role in changing my perspectives in the better way. Actually all the teachers were considerate and encouraging towards all of the students, and Dave provided an opportunity for me personally to meet with a person from TESOL Program after knowing that I would be pursuing Master of TESOL next year. I was fortunate to have been introduced and connected with an important person. I always admire Dave for his actions toward each student and I am grateful for the words of encouragement, the feedback, the opportunities Dave provided.

I think the courses (ARTS131, ARTS231, ARTS232, ARTS331, ARTS332) supported me and are what I needed to be equipped for postgrad studies.

At first I didn’t want to stay on campus and share space with other people whom I never knew before because I had only lived with family. It was awkward and lonely for a person who first moved abroad. After a few months, I have been adapting to this new life and I start to love it more and more. Christchurch was and is a lovely city in my opinion, I love the environment and the people. The only thing that is hard for me is that I don’t drive and I don’t have license. Also it is faster and more convenient to get to places in my country.

I think the best experience is related to my academic improvement. I believe both the teachers and my hardworking mindset help expanding my comfort zone and continuously push me to my full potential. There are a few challenges including language barrier, procrastination, and my fear my math. To add up with the last point, I was anxious of not doing good in ARTS332 Data for Research Purpose course. Even though I don’t think I am good at it now, at least I have made a good progress and improved a little bit.

Before coming to NZ, I had been working as an EFL teacher for 8 years. This career has shaped me to become better both personally and professionally. However, I think I have shifted my vision to try something new which is Educational Curriculum Development. My country is a developing country and our education system needs more experts in this field. I believe with my past experiences as an educator and the knowledge I’m obtaining from courses both in Diploma and M-TESOL, I will be able to achieve this goal. In terms of academics, I’m involving myself in and working on courses that are related to my career aspiration. On the other hand, I’m also taking parts in volunteering and organizing works to improve my professionalism and employability but still keep a focus on what my ultimate goal. Additionally, I had a chance to participate in UC Virtual Internship Programme recently and I worked with a tutoring company. I’m looking forward to more opportunities to work with organizations relevant to education

• Interact and communicate with your classmates and teachers despite language barrier. You can really improve your English from it
• Grab any opportunities that are offered to you but know your own limits. You can take in as many things as you want but make sure you can balance them. There’s no need to force yourself if you don’t think you can handle the responsibilities.
• Take care of your health both physically and mentally. Emerging and adapting into a completely new environment and culture is not easy. It does get better but it takes time. Nevertheless, be hopeful and believe that you can get through it.
• be grateful for everything you earn and receive.