Given that she grew up in the 2000s, Erika Godjali’s favourite film may come as a surprise to some. “I actually love this movie from 1965 called The Sound of Music. It’s a very grandma movie, but I like the comfort it brings me. I love how it depicts what a family looks like, and I love its historical background,” she says.
A passion for movies compelled Erika, who is now studying Bachelor of Communication at UTS, to see all the films and TV shows she could. “For some reason, I was always more critical about movies than the rest of my friends were,” she says. “I would analyse them and talk about them. I’m pretty critical about things.”
Drawn to a career in media
While still at school in Cirebon, her coastal hometown three hours from Jakarta, she set her sights on studying Media Arts and Production at UTS. She says, “Literally everything circles around the media – social media in particular. I feel like young people use it daily and so I wanted to dig deeper into it. I’d heard a lot of great things about UTS, especially in the media field. I also love the city location. And I heard that Hugh Jackman went there, so that settled it!”
Finding a pathway to UTS
Erika chose a Diploma of Communication in Digital and Social-Media from UTS College as her pathway to UTS. “Even though I did my diploma at home because of COVID, there were good memories,” she says. “In my classes, I met students from all over the world. A lot of South-East Asian students, and people from Sydney. There were even some from Croatia. It was cool. I have some social anxiety, and I think that meeting all these people online was better for me. Coming to a new country and all of a sudden being exposed to so many different people would have been a lot. But working with groups and stuff online was fun and I find I’ve become more confident in public speaking and communicating. It’s weird in a way, but I loved doing the group work.”
Learning.Connected
Group work is an integral part of Learning.Connected, the model of learning at UTS College. Instead of lectures and tutorials, students learn by participating in forums, presentations, discussions, labs, practical classes and guided independent learning. Erika says, “I found it hard at first. I was used to going to a class and listening to a lecture and then doing my work. I had to get used to doing the pre-tutorial tasks. But over the course, I found it easier and easier. In time it felt better coming to class knowing what to expect. Once the class started, I could get into the conversation right away. I really liked how it worked.”
An exciting win
It worked so well for Erika she graduated from her Diploma of Communication with an Outstanding Graduate Award – a cash prize for attaining the highest GPA in her diploma group. Erika was still in Indonesia when the news came through. She says, “It took me by surprise because there were times when I struggled a little bit. The first thing I did was run downstairs and tell my Mum, and it’s safe to say she was proud of me.”
Living the dream
Erika is now in Sydney, studying on campus at UTS. “I’m so excited about getting into the practical stuff of media arts,” she says. “I want to do all the filming and editing and things like that. But I’m also excited to find the communities at uni and build that circle of people who have the same interests.”
Arriving in Australia ten days before Orientation Week, Erika took the opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of her new environment. She says, “I had a chance to explore the city, and visit the suburbs with my Mum who has friends there. I think I might be a suburbs girl. I also got to see violinist Hilary Hahn perform at the Opera House, and it was amazing. I like classical music because I play violin. I brought my violin with me, and I’d like to find people to play with. Maybe I’ll join the Music Society.”