It’s ‘the people’ that made me in love
: Ulster University
“Why did you choose Ulster instead of the other four unis you applied to?”
Every time people asked that question, I will start my storytelling session about when I got the chance to meet Dr. Ruth McAlister, the former Course Director of Criminology and Criminal Justice at UUJ (before I even accepted my offer). My friends, my family members- everyone knows that I am so so so so into Criminology. They said I am a die-hard fan of that discipline, really.
Long-story short, when Ruth explained to me the bits that I will learn in this major and after we had a small discussion, I saw me in her. Let alone, one of her expertise is in Cybercrime. It’s because of her I chose Ulster. I want to be taught by someone who is that passionate to share his or her own knowledge. Let me emphasise, it’s because of the person.
**
On year one, before this pandemic started, I made looots of friends. Locals, internationals. Ah, and I also went out a lot. I think it was still my best uni experience so far. Fun, fun, fun. I have my DAY-ONEers by my side, Carla and Amy, I now understand American Football from Noe, I learned so much about Western cultures from Wiktoria, I tried Smithwicks for the first time because of Derek, and etc… I cannot even mention one by one. The people, they opened my eyes and made me feel that I actually live. I was really comfortable being around them and I can undoubtedly say that Ulster definitely has the best people.
Then again, until recently, I experienced a life-changing experience at Ulster.
So to make my summer break useful, I tried to apply for the Helpline Assistant role at Ulster and I got in. I was over the moon as it was my first-ever, legal paid job. But what’s challenging was that I was the only international student hired for the Jordanstown Campus’ Helpline. Well, who cares? I do. I knew my capacity and I was really scared, so before the work even started, I spent 45 minutes learning Irish names. The job included calling and writing down people’s names so I practiced how to pronounce Ciaran, Niamh, Caoimhe, etc from Youtube. Nope, unlike Indonesian names (you read what you see), they are quite tricky. I did not want to do something without knowing about anything at all, so yeah. At least I prepared a thing. And it’s true! It was proven to be very very useful throughout my helpline days.
Everything went really great until around 3 pm on the first day, I got a call from an applicant’s mother. Due to the GDPR legislation, I ought to speak with her son directly so I asked her to give the phone to him. But maybe because it was very nerve-wrecking to wait for a university offer that he wanted to get into, he got a little stressed an it affected on how he spoke to me on the call.
He said unpleasant things that made me ashamed of myself and definitely shaken my self-esteem. Just because of this one particular person. It totally ruined my day.
“If he is anxious, the least I could think of is he’s worried because of the waiting, but I guess not. I am the problem here. Seriously, am I that bad? I never thought anyone would ever said those things... I think there’s something wrong with me. I really don’t deserve this job.”
I was shocked. And at the end of the call, I cried. Lame right? I know. But I could not hold it. I felt was completely blunt and I started questioning my own ability. “I better quit,” I thought.
Not long after that, I spoke to my supervisors, Naomi and Byrony. They asked me what happened and I told them the whole story.
I stated, “I think it is better for me to quit. I am not a good representative for the university.” They replied, “what he said was so rude. We do not accept those kind of behaviours. And we don’t need those kind of people, but we need you. We need you here.” “Hey, remember. What he said was the reflection of himself, it’s not you. He might just be upset because of the waiting. Okay? There is nothing wrong with you. You’re doing really really well. I hope you want to go back.” I kept those words in my mind.
I needed time to think so they gave me an hour off. I was not ready for what has happened.
At that point my fear was getting bigger. How if there’s another caller says the same thing? How if I make Ulster looking ‘not good’? How if I make mistake?
I got so uncomfortable, I just wanted to go home. That wasn’t my place. But… on the other hand..
Naomi and Bryony believes in me. How can I not believe in myself?
Is this it? It’s your first day and what? You quit? You’re done? Because you’re scared?
… But this is not my comfort zone, at all.
And then what? After this, you are going to go home with nothing and spend the rest of your holiday just laying on the bed doing absolutely nothing? Yes? Is that what you really want? You said you wanna upgrade yourself. You said you wanna have more and are open to new experiences. You said you want to make your time useful. You said you want to grow. You haven’t had any job experience before. Girl, you got the opportunity already. Why don’t you finish what you’ve started?
... But what if I make another mess? What if I-
Shhhh. But what if tomorrow turns out to be just fine? No more those type of callers, and what if you finally can enjoy what you’re doing?
Look, Naomi and Bryony believes in you.
The ‘angel’ inside me is right. I got to push myself. Or else, I will just be this version of me, not evolving. Moreover, there would be no other perfect opportunity like this one.
So yes, I came back stronger the next day. To add, Naomi and Bryony kept on checking on me whether I was feeling better. I am so happy that they do really care. I have never felt this included before.
**
“Thanks for your help.”
“Yes please, thank you so much. Bye bye, have a good day.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much for your time I really appreciate it,” a father said to me (on behalf of his son who were unable to talk to me through the phone because he has dyslexia).
Turns out, the rest of my days were perfect. I was pleased I came back. It was so rewarding to hear those kind of words, everything felt paid off. No more annoying callers. I felt so blessed that I kept being supported, taught and guided by my supervisors until the end.
At the end of my helpline job, I said thank you.
This is what they said:
It is not about how much I get paid for the job, but the experience and support I received. I did not understand about telephone and manners before, neither clearing nor data entry, now I do. I learned to pay attention to details while being nimble on checking or inputting data, having an open mind and ‘can-do’ mentality, practice to not let people tell me what I can and can’t do, had the chance to assess my speaking ability, and also, I am now able to pronounce my friends’ name without doubt. I would not have decided to stay without the kind words they said to me after what happened and the positive environment that Naomi and Bryony created throughout the entire phone days.
It was my first ever, legal job and will always be the most memorable one.
I tell you, there are so many kind, heart-warming and supportive individuals at Ulster. Naomi, Byrony, Ruth, and my friends- are just a few kinds of people you will find here. I repeat, I believe Ulster has the best people.
I fell in love with my uni, again.
-I am so proud to say that I am an UU student :)-
This writing is a dedicated for Naomi and Bryony- the ones who guided, motivated me and most importantly, who saw my worth.
