Overseas students meet challenges

Anu Rita Verma faced challenges when she arrived in New Zealand to study, but she believes the hardships helped her learn.

Unlike many other international students, Anu faced no culture shock when she arrived in Hamilton to study at Wintec. She comes from Chandigharh, which she describes as a metropolitan city with a multicultural population. “My thoughts are pretty clear. I was kind of like strong-willed when I had to leave my country.”

Anu, 26, is now into a job hunt after gaining a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Informatics, level 8. Anu, who’d been helping people around the ITS helpdesk at Wintec, wants to be an IT support technician.

“I remain optimistic about whatever I do. I am glad to be in the IT industry which is constantly growing in New Zealand. Almost every business is in need of IT staff.”

She believes her hardships have helped her learn.  That includes arriving a week late for her course, meaning she had to catch up with work, and managing everything on her own till her husband had arrived. Her husband, Harpinder Singh, arrived two weeks later than her and is now working for NZ Courier Post.

She says this would have been a difficult journey without the support of her family, especially her husband who has been sharing the workload.

When she arrived, Anu was keen to find about her new community and the ways locals help others. “I merged myself into community to bridge communication gaps. And that indeed is required when you are on a foreign land,” she says.

Not being one to let challenges daunt her, she remains positive and encourages newcomers. “Of course, settling abroad is never so simple. You need to realise your inner strength and keep working on your weak areas.”

“Stick to your guns,” says Anu.  “Come prepared, don’t panic and never give up.”

Another Wintec student, Madhav Kapoor, shows similar self-reliance. It helped him choose New Zealand for tertiary education.

He is studying a New Zealand Diploma in Business, Level 5 and 6, through Wintec. Madhav shifted to New Zealand at the age of 18. When he was in India he had the choice of tertiary study in the US, Australia or New Zealand. That’s where the self-reliance kicked in. “I have many relatives and my elder brother in U.S who would be helping me. I wanted to learn ways to live an independent life and secondly I love New Zealand because of its beauty.”

His parents had begun planning his move abroad when he was as young as two. His journey from New Delhi to New Zealand, he says, has changed his thinking about life.

“My decision to study here has made me take decisions by myself and made me think analytically,” he says.

“If I’m at home I won’t be worried about managing grocery and other household affairs as my mum and dad are taking care of that. Here I have to be aware of everything.”

That includes managing his finances, his study timetable and work schedule, as well as preparing his own meals.

“I love management and that’s what I am about to choose in the next half of my course,” he says.

He believes that it is a big challenge for any international student to achieve a break-even point. That bothered him initially as well.

Though Madhav has been working for the last month at Dominos, he finds it hard to ask parents for money for his second year fees which he says are around $20,000.

Madhav has changed accommodation several times. He started at Wintec Apartments, which he considers a good place to live in but expensive.

As of now, he’s flatting on Victoria Street with his room full of sticky notes on the wall next to his bed. He draws inspiration from quotes written on those sticky notes.

Coming to New Zealand relatively young, like many international students, Madhav seeks advice from anyone who can guide him. “I never hesitate in seeking advice.”

His advice to newcomers: “Have confidence in yourself and believe in the end.”

Wendy Rowe, who sits in the busy enrolment centre at Wintec, has been advising international students for the past five years.  She is the student contact centre rep.

She knows the challenges that international students face. “It comes down to getting used to the New Zealand lifestyle as it is quite different from where they come, and also adjusting to the tertiary life.”

The content taught in classes is another concern for most of the international students. Wendy helps them connect with people who could find them a solution.

“It depends on the situation as to what we might do to help. A lot of the times it is like a pastoral care type of issue and then I refer them to International Enrolment Centre, Te Kete Konae, Student Life or Student Learning Services,” she says.

Wendy shares a recent experience. “I had a student a couple of weeks ago who was struggling with one of her papers. She was trying to study at home and didn’t know what she needed to do. I asked her a few more questions and referred her to Student Learning Services and she got a solution.”

Often students lag behind because of language barriers and may not communicate with that fear in mind. In Wendy’s experience there are quite a lot of students who feel embarrassed to ask questions or feel they will be in trouble if they ask.

Wendy also helps students who suffer from home sickness or related problems. The International Centre is also there for such students. She suggests overseas students make contact to get their issues resolved as soon as possible. “Students must make sure they come and ask for help. We are there to make the transition as easy as it can be.”

Her advice to international students is: “Try to be as organised as possible when you get here. You need to make sure your accommodation is ready before you have to start.  We often have a number of students who arrive late which makes it even harder for them to catch up with the classes and getting accommodation arranged.”