The Experience in Summer Vacation

By Xin Huang

In one person’s life, I think there should always be a period which will change his/her following life. This period can change their way of thinking, make them more mature, or even tell them a better way to lead their life for the future. For myself, these ten weeks’ work experience in Bell Bay (Comalco) Tasmania, was exactly that sort of period.

The idea of getting some work experience in the winter vacation came from the Engineering Faculty, where it was generally said that students should take twelve weeks vacation work in a company or university. Consequently, I first applied for positions of vacation work at Maryvale Mill Company, the University of New South Wales, and also Monash University. Here, all three institutions provided me positive feedback and the opportunity to accept such an offer. Just as the time came when I had decided upon which to accept, another offer from Rio Tinto came to me through the faculty, asking whether I would like to take vacation work in Bell Bay, Comalco in Tasmania? With the help of Professor Yi-bing Cheng from the faculty and Mr. Muir from Rio Tinto, I passed the interview for Bell Bay and thus got this fantastic chance for vacation work.

After much exertion, I arrived in Launceston and began my working experience from the 5th of December 2005. Life was really difficult at the beginning, but was still within my expectations. In the first several weeks, not only did I need to get familiar with the working environment, but I also had to get used to this ‘Tasmanian accent’. This difficult time lasted more or less four weeks, and since then, my situation became better and better. From the onset of the program, I was assigned to the Carbon MRU in Bell Bay, and two tasks were given to me. As time progressed, I completed my tasks successfully and was required to present my findings to the General Manager and other section managers. This proved to be very successful, and they were very pleased with the presentation.

Now that those memorable days have past, I realise how much I have learnt. The first was how to communicate with people, especially with Australians - just talk about the wallaby and Jim Beam Whisky. The second learning experience was how to deal with problems which I am not familiar with - just ask more and search on the internet. Moreover, I learnt how to be a competent employee and potential leader, as well as a far superior knowledge about the Australian culture. Actually, there are still lots of other lessons that I learnt during the period, but I cannot describe them all. One of the major things I want to express is that after finishing these ten weeks, I am a new guy now, from every aspect. It really has changed me a lot!

Finally, I always think that a great opportunity waits for the one who works hard, has the right attitude, and knows what he is going to do. Furthermore, he should have the wish to improve himself through his weak points and achieve success through greater efforts. I believe choosing Monash University is the first step towards this success, and an excellent academic background will help you start your career. It is Monash that has provided you with the chance to improve yourself, and it is now up to you to decide whether you are going to take it and be successful.

By the way, I have received an offer from Bell Bay that invites me to take the position of “Development Engineer” after finishing my degree at the end of this year. Another opportunity and a new beginning, isn’t it?