Beginning life at university is an exciting time for any young person, but for 115 students beginning at Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie this week, they are also moving out of home and onto campus.
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2018 is the first time students will be living on campus in Port Macquarie, and Resident Life coordinator Meredith Gibson said that as students moved on campus on Sunday, February 18, the mood was electric.
“Students moved on campus on Sunday and the mood around the residences was incredible, everyone was so happy and excited to be here and it was wonderful seeing all the students faces as they embark on this new chapter,” Mrs Gibson said.
“We have 115 students on campus, a number are international students coming to study with us and six students are from the University of Newcastle.”
Mrs Gibson said the students had their first dorm meeting over the weekend and have already started decorating the dorms to make them more like home.
“We are encouraging all the students to personalise their spaces and the dorms public areas so that they feel more like home to students,” she said.
“We as part of the Reslife team are pride ourselves on taking a passive and active approach to the students by organising activities and events for them to take part in so that when they leave university they have received a well-rounded education.”
Head of campus Greg Linsdell said the addition of students living on campus was great for the university.
“Over the weekend we welcomed 100 local and international students into the new accommodation block on campus, which is a fantastic state of the art facility,” Mr Linsdell said.
“Each student has their own en-suite and room to make it feel like home, but more broadly we have students from all walks of life coming to our campus to get a great education in 2018.
“Beginning this semester we have local students from all over Australia, but also students that hail from all over the world, including from the Netherlands, United States and Nepal who will take what they learn here in Port Macquarie back to their home towns.”
Head residential adviser (RA) Bronte Davidson said she is excited to help students transition to university life and encourages all new students to take part in university activities.
“My job as head RA is to support with three excellent RA’s in my team as they help students with everything university life throws at them,” Miss Davidson said.
“Unfortunately also part of my role is disciplining students if they break the rules, like drinking on campus when a dry zone is in place but I am also the senior student body in the residents so if students or RA’s have problems I am there to provide assistance as well.”
Miss Davidson said that she understands new students may feel nervous about coming to a new place but insists that students living on campus will have lots of opportunities to meet new people and experience new things.
“I come from Tasmania, so when I picked Port Macquarie for my uni I had to leave all my friends and family behind so I certainly know it can be a struggle but I also know that by embracing university life – those students living on campus and those who are just new to the area – you will ensure you will have the best experience possible,” she said.
“Don’t be afraid to do something or try something because even if you don;t know anyone at the beginning you will make friends along the way.
“Even in the last couple of days I can see the campus on a whole has really come together with people from different degrees mixing so I think this year is going to be great.”