Estelle’s story: First year support

Estelle

I'm Estelle and I'm a VU student studying psychology.

I had no intention of actually studying psychology throughout my high school years until the end of Year 12, where I started getting interested in a lot of forensic and science work and I realised that's what I wanted to do.

My favourite thing to do as a kid was probably dance. I did jazz and tap for about 6 years, or the majority of my childhood. And I also did competitive tennis for the last four years of my high schooling.

My dream job is to become a clinical psychologist.

I felt very supported in my first year. All my teachers were really accommodating to different student circumstances. Also, the Learning Hub is really helpful for learning how to write assignments and essays.

Transitioning from Year 12 to uni is a bit challenging because uni is more self learning rather than that persistent kind of teacher and student relationship. It can be difficult, but it also pushes you to do better.

I'd say like most of my days at uni are quite happy. I have a really solid friendship group here.

I think that the VU culture is very diverse and inclusive. There are so many students here, so many different backgrounds.

I've experienced this firsthand in class where it's just such a lovely and helpful environment.

I had no idea that uni could be so welcoming and that's why I chose VU.