First in Family at Uni with Shokerya

So to do medicine to become a doctor you have to go through uni and knowing the opportunity was there for me I just didn't inventing twice. I like to begin by acknowledging that this podcast is recorded on the unceded sovereign Buge Land of the Wajaknonga people. We pay our respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all first nations listeners today. Welcome to our UniPrep school podcast series where we hear from our students who have taken this senior school pathway to university. I'm Zane and this is. Shakira. So Shakira, thanks for coming in. What are you currently studying at university here at ECU? I studied biomedical science at Jundalap campus. Yeah, so this is my third year. Third year is this your third and final year? No, I have got two more units to go. Yeah, cool. And what does bio medicine sort of entail the whole school? I'm pretty bad at science. So this is like a science degree. It's more focused on the lab side of things. So we have got practical and lectures. So the practical side of it is all in PC2 labs. So it's all like working on very specimens. And the first year we did work on cadavers as well. So we had two units that we did work with cadavers. Yeah, so that was like all the way to specimens. Yeah, well, sounds cool. In third year, almost how much longer do you work? Two more units. Two more units. And so that's one semester. One more semester. Yes, nice. I'll be done by this time next year. Oh, yes. You know, I see the finish line. Yeah. Really there. That's sick. And you did uni prep schools as well. Yeah. And what was that like? Yeah, at first it seemed like it's going to be a bit too busy when you do two things at the same time. But I feel like it did work well for me and my mates as well. So it was pretty chill. So we were able to get it through with the uni work. The school work as well. Yeah. What made you want to do uni prep schools back in the classroom in high school? Well, that was like an opportunity for us because we could finish high school at the same time. And we could be able to go to uni the next year without having a gap here in between. So I felt like that's amazing, you know, without wasting any time. Yeah. And you straight away see as you heard about it, that this is what you want to do? Yes, definitely. And the biomedical part of it. Did you always know that that was a possible pathway you wanted to study and learn about? Well, I wanted to get into medicine. So that's still the same. Hopefully I can get into medicine. They are after. So something closer for me was biomedical science that could give me to medicine later on in life. Yeah. I was learning that throughout high school as well, that that was something. That was the pathway, yes. Yeah, that's good. Awesome. Yeah, because I think for me in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do. Like, still, even though I'm studying media and communications degree now, I'm still thinking, oh, if this is still me, is this still what I wanted to do? But knowing that in high school, I think that's a thing. Yeah, I was in IEC when I knew that I wanted to do medicine. It did seem a bit difficult at the beginning because it was a bit different from what we were doing at school back then, but it did help a lot with uni assignments and all that because it's basically the same thing, you know, it perhaps you for uni. Did knowing about this program, so to make you want to go to uni or did you just always? Well, I always wanted to do medicine. So to do medicine to become a doctor, you have to go through uni and knowing the opportunity was there for me, I just didn't invent anything twice. Yeah. Right now, I'm thinking of general surgery at the end of it, but I don't know, I might change my mind when I do my rotations because I feel like it's going to be hectic. I don't know how the lifestyle is going to be, you know, but I've just had a little bit about it. That's where my mind is at at the moment, but I might change it later on. To know that this is, I have got one more semester to go. It is a bit scary, but I'm happy that it's like at least one step is done. Yeah. Does anyone in your family have a medical background? Is that the reason why you wanted to get into a more? No. That's the reason why I want to get into medicine. Now, only be the first one. The first one. Yeah, the first one. Yeah. No one has been in uni from my family. Really? Yeah, so we are from Afghanistan. I'm very privileged to be able to go to school and be able to go to uni and eventually achieve my goals. Wow. Yeah, that's great. Because thinking about it back home in Afghanistan, schools are closed for girls. I was born and grown up in Pakistan, but my parents are from Afghanistan. So in Pakistan, I used to go to Persian schools and that's all Persian, no English. There was other languages. But for me to learn English, I had to take a separate class in the afternoon and I did go to those classes coming to Australia. It was a bit difficult for me. My accent was all over the place, but I could understand what the people were saying and I could speak as well, but it was just the accent part of it that I was finding it difficult and also like when people were speaking fast, I couldn't. I couldn't understand, comprehend it, so I had to ask them to slow down a bit. Yeah. When you say people speaking fast, is that just because they had like Australian accent? Yes. Because when we were doing those English courses back home, it was, I think mainly American. I'm from Afghanistan. I came here in 2018. So I did go to high school here. I went to IEC classes, which is like English classes for people who knew in Australia. So I was supposed to stay there for two years, but they kept me there for one year and a half and then they said you're capable to go to mainstream now. So they moved me to mainstream and I was supposed to go to year 10 and it was halfway through the air. I went, I chose to go to year nine instead of year 10 because I was back even back then. I was thinking of this opportunity. I knew that our school was providing uni-prep school at the same time. So I wanted to use that opportunity. So thinking about it, one of the requirements that I asked, that they asked me was having at least one eight-hour background. So to do that, I had to sit year nine and I wanted to prove myself to the teachers that I am capable of sitting at a in-air 11. But if I were to go to year 10 instead of year nine, that was halfway through the air and I didn't have enough time to prove myself to the teachers. So obviously they were choosing someone who has been in their classes for longer and I wanted them to know that I am capable of sitting at our classes and then eventually being able to sit in your private school as well. Yeah, what was your first impression of uni-prep schools? When you walked into class for the first time, would you remember what were you feeling and thinking? Well, I was excited because it was a bit different. We had to use canvas which we do at ECU right now as well. We didn't have that at school. So it was a bit different but it was amazing. I was excited because everything was all in one place and you could get all the resources from there and you could study ahead. Yeah, something else you had to learn as well. Well, I was excited because I do like to dig deeper, to see what's coming ahead. So I could see all the modules. That was amazing for me because at school we don't have that. I don't know how school is right now but back then we were given papers, printed papers. Yeah, kind of modules were there. Well, uni-prep has four units. So it was maths, humanities, learning skills and there was one more kind of member than now but there was one more unit that we did. So formats I could see that there was algebraic decimal points and all that. Those things were easy for me. Yeah, I already knew the topics. Yeah, so when you first came to ECU you really felt somewhat prepared then, right? Well, definitely, definitely compared to my peers who just came from high school or something they didn't even know how to reference. Yeah, well. Yeah, so I was helping them like a pro but yeah. Yeah, see from my experience I didn't do uni-prep but I met my first semester coming to ECU. I was really nervous because I didn't know how to reference. I had to book an appointment with a librarian just one-on-one and he had to teach me how to do it so I was a bit stressed. I didn't know Canvas as well. Like what you were saying. I can feel you. Yeah. but yeah, I started part-time because I was. I wasn't sure if Uni was for me, but by the sounds of it, you already had a taste of Uni back in school. So I think that's great. - Yeah, and I didn't even waste time, which is like an amazing thing, you know, 'cause I have to study medicine. That's gonna be like maybe seven or eight years of studies. - Yeah. - Our teacher was the best. - Yeah. - She was taking her time to teach us. Yeah, so she did tell us how to filter things, how to look through, and how to, what keywords we need to put to get to the articles. - Yeah. - Yeah, so she was really good with that. - Yeah. - So I think we did a different, find it difficult. - Yeah, what was it like knowing that you had some other friends or other people who also wanted to go to Uni? - It was kind of nice, 'cause, you know, going to Uni from high school is a bit like challenging for you, and you think that all so scary. Yeah, but knowing that all your peers are going there as well, it'd be easy to catch up. - Yeah, definitely feels, you know. - Yeah, it feels like you're on the same board, you know? - Yeah. - Yeah, it's definitely very comforting. - Yeah, definitely. - 'Cause I remember, yeah, my first day at Uni, I didn't know anyone. Most of my friends have already graduated, or they went to a different university or something like that. So it was just me, so I look, but I think if I knew other people who were committed to university throughout high school, that would have been, yeah, very comforting. We were like 12 of us, and then we did different courses, but we knew that we're at the same uni at the same campus. And it was kind of nice knowing that all everyone's doing different things, you know? - Yeah, when you think of Uni Prep Schools and your time back in school in the class, what skills have you gained from those class? - From Uni Prep School, we learned how to reference, which is the main thing, you have to reference everything at Uni, time management skills, which is one of the main things that you need to know for Uni, 'cause transitioning from high school to Uni is very different, and it's very difficult for someone like coming from high school, 'cause you get lots of time, free time, and you need to know how to use that free time in your advantage. Yeah, so I think those time management skills really work for me. - Yeah, 100%. Yeah, that's the main thing about, yeah. - Compared to other students who are kind of lost, you know? - Yeah. - 'Cause something is hard, you already procrastinate, so you leave it, you know? - Yeah. - But if you know what you're doing, you'll just get into it and do it, and that's done and dusted. - Yeah, and your time management really is important. Yeah, coming into Uni, 'cause Uni takes up a large proportion of your life, sees you start. - It does, but you just have got two or three hours of lecture per week for one Uni, and then you have got only one session per week for the tutorial, if there's tutorial or lab class, but the rest of it is all free time, you know? But you have to work on those things, right? - Yeah, behind the scenes as well. - Yeah. - And you need to know how to manage the time to do that. - Exactly. How do you time manage, do you have any tips on that? - Well, I plan it all in my head, but I do have like a diary that I write down. The important it's in times, yeah. So I do write it down. - Yeah, so just mainly day and times. - Yeah. - Yeah, and the important things, yeah. And I have got like a calendar from student guild, and I write down all the signmess from all the four units, 'cause sometimes it's easier to visually see what's coming next. - Yeah, yeah. - And it's colour coded as well. - Yeah, I think I'm a very visual person. - Yeah. - And when I start each semester, I just have a big A3 bit of paper, or like the one from the student guild, I have one of them as well. I just jot down each assignment that I have and when it's due, 'cause sometimes they like double up. Like, three assignments due at the same time. - Yeah, that one really makes it easy to visually see, 'cause it's colour coded and the weeks are there, you know, which week is the signmess due? And you can write everything in there, and I also write down how many percentage that assignment is. So I can see that I have to put more time for that. - Yeah, aside from doing your degree and studying all the time, what other things have you enjoyed about coming to uni? - Well, I'm using that gym membership. - Ah, yeah. - I do want to do one. - I'm using the gym membership. Yeah, I do go to both campus. I literally pay $99 for the whole year. - Wow. - And you can take as many classes as you want. Do you have any advice for students doing high school who might consider doing uni prep schools? - Well, it's an opportunity. Why not take it? You know, like, if there's one and you're eligible for it, I think you should take it. - Yeah, cool. Well, Shakira, thanks for coming on the uni prep schools podcast today. It's been great, haven't you? - No worries. Thank you for having me. - Join us on the next episode when we explore student journeys at ECU. (upbeat music)