UNAIR NEWS – Katherine Shania is one of the students conferred at UNAIR Graduation ceremony for the period of October 2022. Katherine is a student of the International Undergraduate Program (IUP) Psychology Study Program, Faculty of Psychology Universitas Airlangga.

As an IUP student, Katherine had the opportunity to study at two universities, Universitas Airlangga and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. She has earned a double degree, a Bachelor of Psychology (SPsi) and a Bachelor of Behavioral Science (BBehavSci).

Katherine admitted that her journey was not easy. She must meet several requirements to continue her studies at QUT, such as academic transcripts and IELTS scores. There was also a language barrier as lecturers in Australia use an accent that tends to be fast.

“Maybe at the beginning of the semester, it’s a bit difficult to understand, especially the accent. And if they speak quickly, more work needed to understand,” she said in an interview on Monday, October 3, 2022.

Active in class

Attending lectures during the Covid-19 pandemic also forced Katherine to find community actively. “As I went to college amid the Covid-19 pandemic, everything was online. Making friends was really hard. So we have to be smart in looking for communities,” said the graduate.

Katherine said that taking a double degree program requires determination and strong will. In addition, being an active student in the class is also very helpful.

Katherine learned many things from two years of education in a foreign country. While studying in Australia, the Jakarta native admitted that she had a part-time job to meet her living expenses. “It is a good thing for time management training before having a real job, isn’t it? And I can be more independent as well,” she said.

Join communities

During her studies, Katherine was actively involved in several non-academic activities, including in the church community. Furthermore, she also volunteered at a non-profit organization.

At the end of the interview, Katherine suggested UNAIR students should not to waste an opportunity. “Opportunity doesn’t always come twice. And we never know when that opportunity will come again. Go for it!” she concluded the interview. (*)

Author: Agnes Ikandani

Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh