A day in the life with Hoa Pham

Meet Hoa Pham, current Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) international student from Vietnam. We caught up with Hoa Pham to learn more about how her study from home is going, her experiences studying in Australia and her top tips to stay motivated!

What are you currently studying?

Hoa Pham: I am studying a Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) at Deakin University and I am in my second year.

What campus do you study at?

Hoa Pham: I am enrolled in the Melbourne Burwood Campus but like most students, I’m now part of the Cloud student community.

What do you enjoy most about university?

Hoa Pham: I love Deakin’s practical approach to education. My tutors bring many interesting insights from their real-life professional experience to the class, and my assignments simulate the actual workplace scenarios quite well.

What is the most difficult part of adjusting to life in Australia and study at university?

Hoa Pham: Going abroad for the first time in my life back then, I was constantly afraid of doing something culturally inappropriate at the beginning. The Australian accent is quite different from the type of American English I learned back home so I couldn’t understand some classmates. When I hanged out with my first Australian friends, I sometimes felt lost amidst cultural references and couldn’t get their jokes. Luckily however, Australians are pretty relaxed and friendly, so I gradually overcame my insecurities, attended lots of events and broadened my network.

In terms of academic study, I was unfamiliar with academic referencing and assignment requirements. Harvard referencing was nowhere near my imagination, to begin with. Concepts like in-text citations or DOI were “a whole new world” and I was the enlightened Jasmine stumbling from one wonder to another. Secondly, I was confused about what was expected of me in the assignments. Should I write more formally? Has my research been one-sided? Are my arguments convincing enough? After a few submissions, my major takeaway is always closely following the assignment instructions and attempting to apply learning materials in previous weeks whenever possible.

Are there any support services or resources you used at Deakin?

Hoa Pham: I attended nearly all DeakinTALENT workshops in my first trimester, which gave me an excellent foundational overview of the Australian employment landscape and employability tips. I pay it forward by being a panel speaker for their workshops three times so far.

The Student Central is my number one go-to option for any queries and I always highlight this to new students when working as an Orientation Ambassador. The student advisors there were all helpful and kind, and I usually walked away with a sigh of relief.

How do you fit your study around the rest of your life? Do you have a routine?

Hoa Pham: I like to do a few things at the same time in order not to be stuck in one problem. I prioritise attending all seminars, and take care other commitments like volunteering or working outside these timeframes.

What are your top tips for preparing for exams?

Hoa Pham: Exams are now online, which may be a mixed blessing. However, these tips always apply when it comes to learning:

Tip 1: Self-studying is everything. Only when you self-study will the knowledge be yours. Attending 10 hours of lectures and seminars every week means barely anything if you don’t review your learning at home. When you actually research, think about and engage with the topics, you will find your way around the wealth of information and imprint it in your mind.

Tip 2: Practise, practise, practise in the long term. For me, any success is always a process, not an attempt. Even that eureka moment in an exam only comes after months of immersing yourself in study materials and sharpening your thinking skills. It’s during this long-term self-studying that the information is optimally retained in your memory, and closer to the date your revision tasks would be heaps easier. Cramming 11 weeks of learning materials into 1 week before the exam may result in you confusing details here and there, failing to get the big picture and thus suffering from extreme nervousness.

How do you stay mentally, socially and physically well juggling all the things in your schedule?

Hoa Pham: I am actually juggling study, work, volunteering and career development simultaneously, so I always note down deadlines for each new task in my phone calendar, and write out the emergency ones I need to complete every day. I stay mentally healthy during this challenging time by always immersing myself in positive thoughts and reminding myself of the reason I came here. I maintain my social life by joining lots of Zoom sessions with my old teachers, friends and volunteering teammates. In terms of physical health, I try to eat enough meals a day and plenty of vegetables.

If you could change one thing about your uni experience what would it be? 

Hoa Pham: I wish I could have been more active during my first trimester. I started joining clubs, making Australian friends and expanding my network from Trimester 2. Only then did I realise how much fun I’d missed out on.

What are you most proud about in terms of your university journey so far? 

Hoa Pham: I have been quite proactive in developing my career pathway. I secured three extremely on-campus jobs: Success Coach, DeakinTALENT Ambassador and Library Student Assistant, as well as a part-time role directly related to my field – Marketing Communication – only one year into my degree. I finished an internship right after my first year, have been invited to the speaker panel of three DeakinTALENT workshops and am now serving as a Study Melbourne Ambassador for 2020. I’ve established an extensive network from scratch with Communication teachers and students, Study Melbourne staff, the highest DUSA student leaders, Deakin’s film and TV cohort which is dominated by domestic students, as well as staff members from Work Integrated Learning, Deakin Library and DeakinTALENT. I’m an executive for two clubs, a member in another two and a familiar face in many student support activities at Deakin.

Have you had any difficulties adapting to studying online? 

Hoa Pham: Communication problems (e.g. unknowingly interrupting another speaker, missing a question or speaking unclearly due to internet connection etc.) are the biggest issues for me when studying online. I’ve therefore tried to be mindful of video conferencing etiquettes (e.g. muting your mic when another is speaking, knowing when a speaker is nearly finished, communicating clearly with important points reiterated etc.). The momentum to get out of bed and open your laptop is another problem, but I remind myself of why I absolutely need to attend seminars each time I want to give in to laziness.

Do you have anything else you would like to share? 

Hoa Pham: My advice for students seeking to improve their employability during this pandemic: this is a great time to polish your professional online presence, reach out to new connections and show existing ones that you care about them. All it takes to stand out is small efforts like a catch-up message, a meaningful interaction, a post, a connection request etc., repeated daily.

Hoa Pham is currently studying a Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) at Deakin University.