"I remember walking into the AMM for the first time and feeling so incredibly overwhelmed. This was the place I’d wanted to be since I was 12 years old. And damn did I feel like a terrified kid in that moment. I don’t think I managed to make eye-contact with anyone in that department except for my peers and my tutor in that first year. I was completely convinced they’d made some mistake and there was another Jessica Edgson out there who was being cheated. 

 

I’ll tell you, it’s one thing being accepted to second year, but when you finally have 24-hour access to the department, that’s when you really feel like a journ student. At that point, I guess I became a little less terrified of the actual people who made up the department. 

 

You always hear about how hard the journalism students work (usually from the journalism students themselves), and you end up wearing it as some badge of honour. And I kinda think we all wanted to believe we were the most sleep-deprived students on campus. My friend and I used to regularly dream up ways we’d burn down the department before a serious deadline was looming. Of course, we were completely joking. However, one day, I made a Facebook status about how we’d go about it… forgetting we’d been forced to befriend the journ department’s account. Nothing came of it, but it there was a moment of “Oh shit” that went through my head. I guess that’s when I learned to be a little more careful about what I put online. 

 

If I have one thing to say to all the undergrad journalism students right now, it's: don’t take it for granted. You have access to the most amazing resources and educators. Take advantage of that. If you don’t, you will end up regretting all the opportunities you had to learn at such an amazing institution. 

 

It’s weird, looking back, to realise that some of my fondest memories of university are pulling all-nighters in the journalism department with some of the greatest friends I’ve ever made. And, to be honest, I’m pretty sure we all would have passed a year earlier if we’d studied alone. But would it have been worth it? Nah. 

 

And if you want a real confession…

 

During our final 3rd year course on Journalism Development and Democracy, I’d developed a kidney infection. Still, I pulled myself out of bed to go to the practical showcase of what we’d done and made it home alive (that was just to make me sound good before I get to not-so-good confession). A week later, we were meant to do our final group presentation and I’d got the dates confused. I was convinced it was happening the day after an exam for one of my arbs. So, I wrote the exam and met up with a friend for a few celebratory tequilas, only to run into a member of my group at Grotto Mojito (don’t know what it’s called now). Somehow she didn’t notice I was not entirely sober. 

 

That’s when I was reminded that the presentation was happening in just over half an hour. I downed two coffees and ran up the hill, sweating tequila out of every pore. I made it there, we did the presentation and to this day, I have no idea whether anybody actually noticed how severely sloshed I was. But I remember us doing well, and that’s what matters."