Student Ambassador Clarice Ong recently completed her Diploma of IT at UTS College. “In some ways, IT is probably the most surprising direction I could have chosen,” she says, “other than maybe maths or science. I think I was expected to go in another direction, like music. Sometimes people even tell me I ‘don’t look like an IT student’, I ‘don’t dress like an IT student’, I ‘don’t talk like an IT student’ (whatever they think an IT student should look, dress, or talk like). But I chose it because I want to study interaction design at UTS, and that’s a Bachelor of Information Technology major.”
Clarice could well have considered a career in music, having studied piano and violin from the age of six, but she saw even more exciting possibilities in interactive design. She says, “It combines design with technology. We have applications, we have websites, and they all require interactive designers to piece everything together.”
Learning to be a leader
Growing up in Surabaya Indonesia, Clarice attended Merlion School, where she emerged as a student leader. “It’s now called ‘SIS’ (the Singapore International School of Surabaya),” she says. “It opened the door to so many opportunities for me. As vice president of the student council, I achieved things the school had never done before, like holding the first Halloween party in five years, and saving up enough money to hold an end-of-year graduation party. Even though our budget was quite small, I came up with ways to make money. For example, I held a small lottery – I asked students to donate things they didn’t use any more like books and toys. We raised a lot from that one event, so I could rent out a really nice café for our end-of-year celebration.”
She says most of her leadership inspiration comes from her close-knit family, especially her father. “He taught me so much about being a leader and standing up for myself. He taught me how to get a part-time job, how to organise my time, how to arrange events. He taught me about budgeting. He’s a great dad and he spoils me constantly.”
Clarice also has family in Australia, including a cousin in Sydney whose husband is a UTS Bachelor of Information Technology graduate. In fact, he first introduced her to UTS, and the couple were her original inspiration to study in Sydney. “I remember six years ago when we first visited them here. We were in the CBD, and he said, ‘Look! That’s my university’. I didn’t think about it much after that, until I realised it’s now my university.”
Signing up as an ambassador
Before she even applied for UTS College, Clarice was keen to join the Student Ambassador program. She says, “I remember looking through the UTS College Instagram and seeing students with those cool red jackets helping people out. I thought it would be a fun activity. So, as soon as the applications opened, I applied, and I think I was one of the earliest people to join. Most ambassadors join in their second semester.”
For Clarice, the best thing about the role is helping new students get comfortable with their surroundings. “Some students are quite shy when they come to a new country. It takes a lot of courage because there’s so much new culture,” she says. “For example, where I come from, we don’t really have public transport like Sydney’s. I think showing new students around, sharing what we know, and making their lives a bit easier is the best thing about being a student ambassador.”
Breaking the language barrier
One thing that comes in handy for Clarice when helping students on campus is her fluency in English, Indonesian, and Chinese. She says students can be shy about speaking English when it isn’t their first language, so it helps that she can break that barrier. “It can be hard getting people to engage,” she says. “Being a Student Ambassador, you can’t be too pushy, but we can’t leave people on their own either. We want them to have fun at our events – have fun communicating with other people. I think a little push is okay.”
A firm believer in networking, Clarice recommends making as many connections as possible. “Especially outside of your major,” she says. “I’m a technology major and sometimes if I want to think of something big – let’s say I want to start my own business – I might want a business major student to collaborate with. In the future, when we all graduate, we can make our dreams happen because we’ve made trusted connections.”
Getting there little by little
Clarice is still planning her future but is already excited by the possibilities. She says, “I have an entrepreneurial streak. I really want to start my own business, but I’d probably gain some experience in my industry first and do it little by little. Although I know nothing is certain, you still need a certain set of skills to make your dreams come true. I’d like to create my own design studio – an interactive design studio – probably making websites or applications for other businesses.
There’s always room in her life for music too. “I originally trained as a classical musician, but now I play more pop music. I still play classical from time to time, but I prefer pop these days. If I make a mistake or play a wrong note, I can always improvise around it. I don’t have a piano in Sydney, but I have my violin. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll be an interactive designer with a music studio,” she says.
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