Friday 17 November was finally here and students eagerly waited for the teachers so they could start an adventure filled day of exploring Western Sydney Uni – Milperra Campus for their U Day. 1500 students from 46 schools in Sydney’s southwest arrived together in a very well organised bus shuttle service.
U Day is an opportunity for students to experience university life and learn about the different courses and pathways to tertiary study provided through Western Sydney Uni. Earlier in the year, some Year 12 students visited the Parramatta Campus U day. Milperra is a new modern campus compared to the history rich buildings of the Parramatta campus. In the next couple of years, the Milperra campus will be closing and the new, high tech Liverpool campus will be opening.
Prior to the adventure, students were required to register for their selected lecture and workshop information sessions. There were three sessions with over 40 different course to select from. Sessions that students selected included: Planning a Nursing Career, Criminology Making music, Engineering and Sustainability, Business – becoming a change maker, Design & Technology, Industrial design and Science is more than Lab coats.
The first session was in one of the main lecture theatres where information about Western Sydney Uni courses, life as a uni student, options and pathways, were presented via a question and answer student panel.
Then it was off with all the other students, using a map to navigate to a building, level and room in time for the start of the second session.
“How do I know where to go”, “which way do I turn this map”, “is this the right room”, “I’m lost, where am I”, were common statements heard as students attempted to find their rights rooms without looking too lost.
Students quickly acclimatised to the campus layout and locations of the main buildings.
Entering a room, by yourself, not knowing if you have the right room, with the lecture already started, where you know no one else can be quite intimidating.
Each session contained a mini lecture, an overview of the course structure and question and answer time. It was a time when students could find out about a career field and how to gain entry into the course and the profession. Sometimes, students decided that the career path wasn’t quite what they expected, other times, they were excited by the prospects. Students were expected to take notes while sitting on lecture chairs as if they were uni students.
Lunch – which was provided by the unit, with 1500 students was a time to regroup and share experiences.
Comments students made about the day:
- “that’s interesting, I’d like to explore that course further”
- “where do I go to sign up?”
- “Can we do that again”
- “I think I know what I want to do at uni now”
- ‘Now I know what uni is like, I don’t think I want to go”
- “Psychology looks harder than I thought”
- “5 years- that’s a lot of study – that’s almost high school all over again”
Milperra U day was a very beneficial day for all students, each for their own reasons. It is a time when they can learn more about life after school and the options that are ahead for them. For all students though, it is about having a growth mindset and determination that with effort, perseverance and application, they too can achieve higher than their dreams and goals.
Earlier in the year, Tim Wilson from Campus Bible Studies – based at Milperra campus came to speak to yr 12 students about the importance of joining with other Christians on campus. Tim was also available today to speak to students about the opportunities available by being a Christian on campus.
