Modern Mateship
by Michèle Nardelli
While it is always nice to get a public thank you, when you meet the students who have volunteered to be Business Mates at UniSA, it is quite clear that public accolades are not what they are after.
The Division of Business ran a Future Leaders Recognition Awards ceremony to thank the many students who volunteer to support first-year business students when they get to uni – but for student volunteers Erin Clark and Abhishek Shaw, that was just icing on the cake.
A second year student in the Bachelor of Management, Human Resources Clarke says getting involved in the Business Mates student mentoring program has been one of the things she loves most about studying at UniSA.
"When I started at another uni straight from school, I was a high TER student out of my depth, and I really bombed out. It was awful," Clark says.
"A couple of years on, I’m more mature and I‘m having my second shot and it is going well. This program to support first-years is giving me the chance to stop history repeating itself for some other students. I can tell them it is normal to feel like you can’t handle things. We’re not counsellors but we can share our own experiences and I think that really helps."
Master of Business student from Calcutta, Abhishek Shaw says his experience of coming to study in a whole new country is really valuable to share with other international students.
"When I arrived I was delighted because there was some good support from staff, lecturers and student support services," Shaw said. "But you are still thousands of kilometres from home. Cooking, cleaning, studying and holding down a part time job, often all for the first time, it is not easy. Because I was so well supported I wanted to give something back to the new students and be able to give them someone to talk to who understands their challenges."
The Business Mates meet with new students at orientation and across the year, holding regular pizza lunches and making themselves available to talk face-to-face or by email.
Clark and Shaw say they have had a great time being part of the program. They agree it has been a boost to their self esteem and confidence.
"It is something I really look forward to," Clark says. "It makes uni about more than just the courses."
The program has also given them access to extra training courses, small scale event management and the sorts of experiences they believe employers are looking for when they recruit.
There are 57 Business Mates offering support to new students across the Division of Business.