Auckland University of Technology Speciality : Communication
programme: Communication Studies

Overall, I am grateful for the knowledge obtained and challenges faced. However, I feel there is more AUT could have contributed. My learning was very self directed during lockdown at times, given my degree was a Bachelor of Communications, I was not always a Screenproduction major and Digital Communications minor with electives in Psychotherapy. Originally I was an Advertising major, but the lecturer and assistant constantly miscommunicated, were unprofessional and picked on certain groups of people. That’s when I began to understand the hostility of some in the industry, so I dropped that immediately and redirected myself to my actual passion, Film. Even then, in lockdown they encouraged us to film with our mobile phones for convience. I was uncomfortable with this so worked as an essential worker and bought a camera to self shoot the projects. Eventually in my final year, as I was making my graduate project I was singled out and not well looked after as compared to other people doing their projects; due to my film being a unique depiction of South Asian family dynamics and the struggles of young adults to pursue their passions. Whilst some professors contributed and accelerated my journey, others made it unnecessarily racist or unfair at times. Especially when I began to battle with my health and had to drop a paper due to long Covid effects. The university had me explaining myself more without much support in return, or if there was support it would take a while to arrive.