tombaker3-blog

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Week 13

Finally, week 13 is here meaning the end of semester. With only 2 exams and a presentation left I’m definitely ready for a break. This semester has had both positives and negatives. Some positives such as meeting new people and making friends, learning interesting sport things, getting a taste of university life and also completing one sixth of the degree. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, the only real negative is the workload and travel (driving) for me as I live over an hour away. In these 13 weeks, I’ve learnt a lot about myself as well as learning heaps of new strengths. I’ve learnt that sports business is the path I want to go down. Furthermore, I’ve learnt so many valuable skills that I will without a doubt need to use in the future while at university and hopefully when in the field of work. I need to make a big change with my time management skills and my organisation as I really struggled with keeping on top of the work load in the final weeks of the semester. I need to take in consideration the possibility of something happening which will delay work being done. My attitude and motivation was pretty solid throughout the semester until I did hit a rough patch and struggle in these last few weeks. This is due to being swamped in work after not managing my time correctly. Overall my learning development has been immense, I feel as if I have accomplished so much in such a little amount of time. From making friends to completing all assessments to the best of my ability, this semester has been a great experience personally.

The feeling of a break sounds unreal as I’ve been in work mode for weeks, this GIF sums up my feelings perfectly.

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Week 11

While the A3 essay task was quite challenging, I found the topic very interesting and I thought my final piece was well written. The thing I found challenging was meeting the deadline, I left the essay until a few days before as I was swamped with other assessments. In hindsight, I should have been more organised as all my lecturers had made it clear these last weeks of semester were hectic. I think I researched effectively for this essay as I found it easy to find relevant examples for my topic. After a few goes at essay writing in previous assessments this semester I now find it easier to do as I believe I have the TEEL structure down allowing me to get assessments done quicker while also writing more fluently. Before submitting the essay, I made sure to re-read it a few times to check for grammatical errors while I also focussed more on my referencing due to past feedback. In review, I’m happy with the final piece and hope to receive a good grade on it.

This GIF represents how each subject has me feeling after what feels like non stop assessments.

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Week 9

Following my completion of year 12 last year, over the holidays break before I started at Holmesgen I applied to work at the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne as a bartender. My application was successful and I received an interview. As communication was always going to be a key thing interviewers look at because the role deals with talking directly to customers I made sure to sound professional, confident and suitable for the role. The interview went well and I received a job for every day of the Grand Prix, this comes down to my use of professional communication and good body language. I think acting professional at job interviews such as the one I attended is a must to even have a chance of succeeding and getting the role.

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Week 7 - feedback

Feedback is a very crucial part in improving, therefore I have taken it all on board from both teachers and classmates in the past weeks. I’ve made sure to read the feedback from previous assessments which have been marked in order to not repeat any mistakes on future assessments. I still haven’t got the referencing and citing down pat so it is vital that I read the feedback on how to ensure I get full marks in that area. This is exactly what I have done with Sharyn and Paige’s feedback after our first assignments. I’ve responded to this feedback well as it is there to benefit me not degrade my work.

Upon feedback from one of my classmates on the first few ePortfolio entries, I could use this feedback and better my work to improve the entries. As seen, my classmate recommended adding more into my work to reach the word target as well as going more in depth. This feedback was also very useful as it came from another student who was able to give extra tips while also taking some from my writing.

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Week 5

Balancing study with external interests was always going to be the biggest challenge for me. It’s been rather tough balancing playing football, working, seeing family and friends and studying/completing assessments, while all are vital, sometimes I have to sacrifice one of the others in order to complete outstanding assessments. During the past 5 weeks the thought of the end result here at Holmesglen has kept me motivated to submit all assessments on time at a top standard. When doing subject work at home I get distracted very easily so I find setting 30 minute timers on my phone allows me to work hard for 30 minutes, then have a 15-minute break and then repeat. This makes my study much more effective and productive. For future study, I need to introduce the use of a diary or calendar to really plan out my weeks. This will help with the balancing of study and all my hobbies as well as decreasing unproductive time.

This GIF represents how I’ve been feeling the past few weeks with constant work on my mind.

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Week 3 - teamwork

Three weeks in and the time to produce the first piece of assessed work had come, this time it was a group assignment. I was teamed with three complete strangers who I had never engaged with before. This assignment put myself and most likely my group members as well way out of our comfort zones which ultimately affected our groups communication and cohesion. In saying this, each team member completed their assigned tasks allowing us to pull together a good quality slideshow presentation. Working in a group for the first time at university was definitely a challenge but also quite exciting. As daunting as this assessment was, it resulted being just fine and I coped with it quite well. For future group assessments, I have learnt to be on top of things early and to take control if no one is.

After completing the teamwork survey, it is clear the only downfall in the whole experience was the groups communication but that is expected with strangers. The teamwork survey was a useful tool for assessing the team’s experience while also providing feedback to other members.

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week 1 - starting out

The first week was a daunting experience as I came to Holmesglen not knowing anyone while also never experiencing university. As I approached my first week of uni I was very unorganised and unsure whether this was how I wanted to spend my first year out of school. As the first few days and classes went by I found myself settling in, making friends and enjoying my time. The only problem was travelling to and from Chadstone as I live over an hour drive away. In this opening week, I found out what was expected of me as a first-year university student as well as learning of the busy assessment period ahead. Upon review of the opening week I intend to approach this year very organised by keeping on top of each subject’s assessments and class work. While there will be classes I cannot attend, I aim to get to class as much as possible. If a class is missed I aim to do my best in reviewing the class notes from home prior to next week’s class. Overall I enjoyed the first week and have learnt what’s expected of me for the entire semester giving me a plan on approaching the rest of the year.