What it's like for a student living at UniLodge
Tingting Yang, a student at The University of Melbourne and a Residential Advisor at UniLodge Lincoln House, wants to share her experiences of living and studying in Melbourne this year.
Hi guys, I’m a third-year student studying at the University of Melbourne and living in UniLodge Lincoln House. It has absolutely been a tough year for students because everything has moved online. We need to attend all classes online and it is hard to catch up with friends. Thus, it has been important to maintain good mental health level and keep a balance between study and social life. The university does offer us a lot of alternative activities for students to enjoy. For example, we have a lot of workshops which includes academic advice, employability skills development as well as mental health and wellbeing. Also, we have free online yoga sessions and online gym sessions in order to support students’ physical health. We could access all kinds of university resources such as counselling service, financial support and peer mentor support. If we have any questions, we could always contact Stop 1 (the student services and support centre for The University of Melbourne) for some advice and help. Besides, university professors and tutors are really nice and helpful, and we can always arrange a consultation with them to discuss the problems we have with our studies. It is such a good feeling that The University of Melbourne provides us with so much support, guidance and care during this tough time.
Lockdown doesn’t mean no social life. Living at UniLodge Lincoln House provides me with a lot of opportunities to meet people virtually and make friends. No matter if it is offline or online, we always have different types of social activities every month. For example, I enjoy movie night a lot. With free snacks and drinks, I have wonderful film nights with some other residents. Also, as an RA, I’ve hosted a virtual trivia night which is absolutely a fun time! Being a resident here, we could collect free healthy food with a variety of choices which suits our food budget. Also, UniLodge Lincoln House provides us with free fresh fruits and snacks on a monthly basis - absolute bonus! Besides, the staff here are very friendly and supportive. If we have any questions or problems, they are always there to help us. It is a warm and supportive community to be part of, with good facilities and excellent service here.
As an international student, I have been here for three years. During these periods, I gain knowledge from the uni and make a lot of friends from diverse cultural backgrounds. There are so many things I enjoy in Melbourne: beautiful views, wonderful weather, tasty food and lovely people. Although this pandemic interrupts our normal pace of life, we have a lot of supports from uni and the residential community. I also believe that we can get through this together. For those people who want to study in Melbourne and live in the UniLodge Lincoln House, it is going to be a unique and wonderful experience for you.