5 Tips to Make the Most Out of Your Open Day Experience

By Tracy Trieu, current Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) student at the University of Sydney Business School.

As a Year 12 student and one of the first from my family to go to university, I really didn’t know anything about tertiary education. What degree do I want to do? What university should I pick? Will I make friends? What’s the difference between a tutorial and a lecture?

There were so many unanswered questions and I had no idea what the next year had in store for me. But like other high school students, I attended as many Open Days as I could and it really helped clarify a lot of things for me. Open Day is essentially a day where you are able to get a taste of the university experience – there are club and society stalls, information booths, presentations, helpful lectures and workshops and, of course, freebies! The day opened my eyes to all the things the University of Sydney had to offer, and it gave me opportunities to further discover the courses I was interested in.

Open Day can be a really exciting and jammed packed day so here are some tips on how you can make the most out of it:

1.  Plan your day! Take a look at all the activities and events available and map out where you want to go and the times (the University also offers an Open Day app you can download).
2. Do a bit of research beforehand – Get an overview of the university and the courses available so you’re able to ask more informative questions on the day.
3. Write down a list of questions you have (e.g. about courses, scholarships, programs) – This is really simple and can help you find all the answers you need without forgetting what you came for (since there’s a lot happening during Open Day and you might get distracted).
4. Talk to the student ambassadors – They’re there to talk to you so don’t be afraid to ask about the student experience, which you might not hear a lot about. They’ve been in your position before and can offer really great advice.
5.  Dress comfortably and pack light! I’m not going to lie, there’s most likely going to be a lot of walking involved during the day. You may also be handed a lot of freebies (including food) so try not to weigh yourself down.

With that being said, be curious, ask questions, take lots of photos (#usydbusiness and #usydopenday on Instagram) and just enjoy the day! And, it’s okay to not have a clue what you want to do in university – you’ll work it out.

Find out more about this years Open Day.

To Reflect is to Learn

I'm back home! After six weeks, I was all set to go home but on the morning of my departure, I got an email from my airline that my flight was cancelled due to bad weather condition in Hong Kong. What? Yes, so much for getting home! After waiting for a day, they were able to arrange my return flight with another airline. Totally out of my control, but I decided to look at it in a positive light - better to be safe than sorry.

So now that my internship is over, it’s time to reflect on my experiences.  Not only because I need to for my presentation, but also because I feel that my experiences will be worthless if I don’t learn from them. But before that, let’s rewind so I can tell you more about the rest of my time in Paris.

Overall, the 6-week-internship has been a great and rewarding experience.  Despite some drama, I enjoyed my time in Paris.  As planned, I managed to tick ‘my list’ - must see, eat and do. I found out how nice Parisian people are, at least this myth was proven wrong by my workmates at Marmiton, staff and lecturers in SciencesPo and people whom I happened to bump with (like the guy from the nearby ‘Boulangerie’ bakery).  However, the longer I’m in Paris, the more that I realised the benefit of being able to speak the language - if only I could speak conversationally.  With beauty such as Paris, you can easily get lost and forget about work and school, as there’s just so much to see and do.  So I made sure I kept myself in check, by focusing on work and school on weekdays.

I was really fortunate to have attended lectures on European Union (EU) at the time when Brexit was happening. We were presented with interesting topics on EU, though there were nights when I was too tired to absorb everything. Our French classes were also fun, actually always fun – maybe because the class members are cool? Or perhaps we are all beginners?  The thing was everybody just enjoyed learning the language, which meant soon as we got in the classroom, we were just delighted to be there.  Our ‘institutional day’ trip was pretty exciting as well.  They have arranged for us to visit the National Assembly; where we observed a session in progress (but only for few minutes as not all of us could understand it fully), Town Hall (Hotel De Ville) and the very cosy Australian Embassy office with a knockout view of the Eiffel Tower.  The office was beautiful, and our ambassador, Stephen Grady, kindly chatted with us and organised an afternoon tea despite his busy schedule. Oh, and OECD invited all of us, including our supervisors, to a cocktail evening and that was refreshing as well, as we got the chance to meet managers of different host companies and were able to exchange greetings and interesting stories.

As you can see, I’m not complaining. I have no regrets. I’m not saying that everything went perfectly. I don’t think that ever happens. There will always be ups and downs, problems, fun and sad times. There will be times when you will ask yourself if you made the right decision, especially in my case because I’m away from work without pay. Sometimes, you will be frustrated especially when your expectations were not met, or when things don’t go your way.  At times, you will feel alone and will be missing your family and friends back home.  But these are all part of the game, of the adventure.  The important thing is surviving through them, which I’m sure, our group or anyone else who signed up for programs like this is capable of doing so. We wouldn’t have joined if we knew we weren’t up for it.

So as I reflect through my experiences, I realise that there is always something to learn and one should not stop learning, no matter their age. We should take every opportunity given to us to discover more about our world and how diverse people are. As only through this can we better understand and appreciate each other. Lastly, this experience made me reflect on myself more closely, in terms of what I really want in the future and being more aware of my character relative to other people and situations.  This is the best outcome for me, as I know this will take me a long, long way.  So for those interested in joining any internship programs, I encourage you to do so but one thing to keep in mind - be realistic with your expectations, and make sure you don’t leave Sydney without some.

For now, I’m leaving you with this quote from Confucius.  Until next time…

‘Learning without reflection is a waste, reflection without learning is dangerous’

Sheila Baugh
Current student of The University of Sydney Business School and participant in the Industry Placement Program in Paris

Afterthoughts from a Summer in Paris

Paris was magical – the city of lights – the city many dream of visiting one day to tick it off their bucket list. And today, it’s been ticked off mine. I remember having all these dreams about Paris and all these fantasies surrounding this elusive place floating around in my head. Perhaps some of these fantasies weren’t mine to make happen. But I learnt, and I grew.

My favourite part of my Industry Placement Program in Paris was the 15-hour long days. No, not 15-hour work-and-school long. But the fact that the skies stayed bright till 10pm daily, made the trip back home from school and work that much more comforting.

Some say that Paris was their city to revisit and fall in love with all over again, for me it was a city to venture out of my comfort zone, grow and learn to thrive in.

Yes, it is tough – so tough that this experience will redefine what you ever thought tough was. There are bound to be hiccups. If you asked me specifically to tell you what was difficult for me; the list is long – adapting to a foreign environment, losing your way through the streets, going through long days at work and having to stay awake through the night classes. The program is incredibly intensive. But if you know what you’ve signed up for, you’ll also know that it’s worth it.

For me, the best parts were getting to know the people, listening to their stories, and hearing about their experiences firsthand. You’d be surprised how much you get simply by asking someone if they’d like to grab coffee and sit down for a chat. The nuances of working life and how they ended up here get revealed in the process, shedding light on all the wonders on everyday life, and reminding you that there are so many people out there in this world walking their paths, many with worries of their own… That how could you ever complain no matter how tough your own situation is? And this is also why I write, and share my stories. Because I know how intimidating it can be to go on a program and have no idea what it’s like when you get to the other side. If you’d like to hear more, write to me here.

A year ago I asked myself, ‘What would you not believe if I told you what your life would be like in the future?’ One of my answers was to embark on this very program to Paris.

Six weeks ago, I asked myself what I was doing in Paris when all I was doing was struggling. Six weeks later I breeze my way through the airport, reflecting on how I’d been given the chance to take on this very program I’d dreamt about going on.

In Paris, I learnt the real potential of having 24 hours in a day and the number of things you can do with 24 hours.

I learnt that everything is a matter of perspective.

I learnt that there’s a lot to love. We can’t always expect things to be perfect, but there will be times that go tremendously well and you will be thankful.

I’ll end off this post (and my summer adventures) with one of my all-time favourite quotes by Howard Thurman that I hope you take away with you:

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Felicia Poh
Current student of The University of Sydney Business School and participant in the Industry Placement Program in Paris