Bachelors ?

So many ups and downs, but finally it is done. And it is time to move on to the next chapter in life.

I started my bachelors in 2020, expecting the normal university life that a student gets. But little did I know. Just one month after starting the course, the whole world was shutting down with the spread of COVID-19 that none of us knew or had heard of before. No more in-person classes, everything was limited to a screen and the connections made were all made online. Things got a little worse after getting to know that I could not fly to Australia due to travel bans and had to do my course from Sri Lanka until the Australian borders opened. What does that mean? Yes, I have to wake up early morning to attend the lectures and to match the Australian time and I don’t get to meet my colleagues in person. To attend the 10.30 a.m. lecture in Australia, I woke up at 4 in the morning. But that year all the hard work paid off. Finished all my units with High Distinctions and definitely got to meet a lot of great people even though everything was online. Regardless, of not being able to be in Australia, actively participating in university activities like clubs and other programs helped me a lot to keep in touch with the people at the university and to build some amazing connections.?

In 2021, after a long wait, I was able to arrive in Australia to continue the rest of my studies. It was a dream come true. But the main focus was still the same. Do your best in your studies, make as many friends and connections and of course enjoy life. But the life started to change a lot. It was not only studies. It is a new country, and you are living by yourself. I had to make sure I had enough money to pay my expenses and university fees. Now what does that mean? Yes, I got to work as much as I could while studying not to enjoy life to the fullest, but to survive. In the beginning, it was not fun. I was questioning a lot of my decisions. But having a target in my head that I needed to achieve something, kept me going. And in no time, I was used to this life and was managing both work and studies without an issue. Something that I would always be happy about is, that regardless of how much time I spent working, I made sure studies come first. This helped me to maintain the results that I always wanted to achieve. Three and a half years of studies at Swinburne was great.? But I need to reflect on the extracurricular activities that helped me to be who I am.?

I joined a program called the Peer Mentoring Program in 2021, just to meet some people because everything was online and those were the only ways to get to know people. But little did I know, this was the start of a whole new journey. With the help of my mentor Tara Anastasia I joined the Swinburne Marketing and Management Club where I met amazing individuals like Chelsea Sheppard , Pattar Rungcharoenrod and Emerson Truong . These people not only were good friends but also a group of people that I always had something to learn from. Especially with Chelsea Sheppard , being one of the nicest people I met in uni and, a student studying something similar to what I am studying helped me to learn a lot about the industry and my future career. The same year I became a Mentor for the peer mentoring program and I was able to help a lot of students with the knowledge I had about university and learn a lot from them as well. This semester, I was able to meet a lot of amazing individuals including Ivan O. whom I call my “big bro” Ransika B. my ”partner in crimes” and many more.? The year 2021 ended in a perfect way for me as I was also recognised as a good leader at Swinburne and I was placed in the finalists (top 4) for the vice chancellors leader of the year award. From 2022 till I finish my university journey, I had the opportunity to serve the peer mentoring program as a mentor leader, and ambassador for Swinburne and also be a part of the Swinburne Student Representative Council as the International Student Director of Swinburne Student Life. These few years, helped me to realise who I really am and what I am capable of doing. But now that journey has come to an end. No more running for classes or meetings about student life. But the connections, memories and friendships made will last forever. Now it is time for me to move into the real business world and use what I learned over the past three years. I need to thank my parents for always having my back throughout this whole journey and every single person who played a part in this chapter. And that’s the end of my story at 澳大利亚斯威本科技大学 from 2020- 2023.?

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