13 minute read
A group interview with eleven residents of Graduate House
Celebrating Graduate House:
60 years a Residential College
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A Group Interview Special:
Following dinner at Graduate House one evening, Martin Comte sat down for a ‘chat’ with eleven residents of Graduate House (the last two of whom have previously been interviewed individually). All of them are from overseas.
Seated at the table and enjoying after dinner drinks before the interview
Martin Comte: Thank you for allowing me to sit with you for this ‘group chat’. I know that you frequently eat together and some of you socialise with each other. In addition to wanting to get to know you a little better, I would also like to glean your impressions of life as a resident at Graduate House. Let’s begin with you telling me how long you have been staying here.
Alessandra Quarta: I’m from Italy and have been here for five months. I have a Research Fellowship and am also doing some work at the university as a trainee.
Laura Pisanu:
I was here for a few months in 2019 and then returned to Italy. I came back earlier this year and have been here for nine months. I’m doing a PhD.
Gianluca Natrella:
I’ve been here since the beginning of October and am also from Italy – Genoa. I’m a PhD student in electrical engineering and am on a six-month exchange program.
Yara Alvarez:
I’m from the Basque country in Spain and am studying for a PhD. I’ve been at Graduate House for four months.
Alba Sanchez:
I’m also from the Basque country and have been at Graduate House for four months, but we arrived in Australia six months ago and will be staying until the end of December. We’re on a kind of exchange between our university and The University of Melbourne. Like Alessandra and Yara I’m working in the Chemical Engineering Department.
Patricia Flemming: I’m from Germany and have been here for a month and will be staying for four months. I’ve been working on the same research project as Alessandra and have just submitted my PhD thesis, but I still have to defend it. Andrea Andreolli:
I’m from Italy and I’ve been here since September – for two-and-a-half months. I’m here for six months on exchange. I’m actually doing my PhD in Germany in the field of fluid dynamics and am based here in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. (I know it’s a bit confusing!)
Kristiina Brunila:
I’m a Professor from the University of Helsinki in Finland. I’ve been here for one-and-a-half months doing research in my field of Sociology of Education. I’m giving a lecture at the Graduate School of Education next week. After leaving Melbourne in a few weeks I’m going to Adelaide for further collaboration with university colleagues.
Manuel Caracuel:
I’m from Seville in Spain. I’ve been here since the beginning of October and will be here until the end of December. I’m doing some research here in psychology as part of my PhD studies.
Tze Jian Chin:
I’m a PhD student in Medicine and Health Science. I’m the Duty Resident and also the Sports Coordinator. (And I was interviewed for the last Newsletter)
DS Magid: I was interviewed in a previous Newsletter. But about this cohort, when I arrived here in May it was always ‘that table’, with Mark the Mathematician from New Zealand, Phia from Namibia who was doing architecture, Domi from Rome, who left last week, and Rosemary from Geelong, and others who were always eating breakfast and dinner together, and I was happy to join in. There’s something about that table! In fact, they tried to separate it into small, individual tables for a while and we all got very upset! The table attracts such interesting folks and we enjoy very varied conversations.
Martin:
Thank you everyone! I am so delighted to meet you all. This came about because I asked Magid if she could suggest someone I could interview for the next edition of our Newsletter. She mentioned this to Kristina who cleverly said, “Why doesn’t he interview all of us together?”
You have just given me a lovely overview of some of our wonderful residents at
Graduate House. It is our residents – and our brilliant staff – who make this place special. Many of you are obviously here for short-term residencies – and we are delighted to welcome you and encourage this. Incidentally, this year we are celebrating sixty years since we first began offering accommodation to graduate students. Having met all of you I am convinced that we must continue doing it for sixty-plus more years!
I’m wanting to ask if there is a good ‘vibe’ here? Are we doing things ‘right’? And what can we do better? We have a simple vision for Graduate House: to be the best provider in the world of short and long term residential accommodation, primarily for graduates undertaking post-graduate studies at any of our universities in Melbourne – but also for visiting academics and members from interstate or overseas.
Let’s start by you telling me why you chose to stay at Graduate House.
“A few of us arrived in Melbourne at the same time and we looked but couldn’t find anything on the internet. And then we met someone who was living here and they were very happy. We decided to try it and felt very spoilt because we can have breakfast and dinner and our rooms are cleaned. It’s also very convenient. We tried it and we liked it.”
“It was much the same for me. I was looking for somewhere to stay and discovered this place. I’m a student at The University of Melbourne and was pleased that I could meet other people who are also studying here.”
“Before I arrived here one of my colleagues suggested Graduate House as a possibility. (She had been a PhD student at the university.) I’m very happy here.”
“My supervisor suggested Graduate House to me. I’ve made a lot of friends. It’s a really happy environment.”
“I’ve stayed here before, but this time I’m here with my husband. It’s good that Graduate House accommodates our partners.”
“My supervisor back home gave me the contact number for another one of her students who told me that she was really happy here; she said that the ‘vibe’ was good. She also said how nice it was to meet other international students and mentioned that they often organised things to do together. I’ve also come to appreciate how nice it is to meet people of different ages and backgrounds who are studying for Masters or PhD degrees in a wide range of fields; it’s really enriching. We come from different places and environments and have an opportunity to learn from each other. I love meeting people who are so open-minded and have so much experience that they can share.”
“My colleague in Spain recommended Graduate House to me; she had stayed here a few years ago. She spoke very highly of the environment and the facilities.”
“My friend and colleague from The University of Melbourne organised my stay here. I had no idea what it would be like – but I checked it out on Instagram and saw so many pictures of older people! It made me feel good that I would not be the only older person here! (I didn’t realise that the older people I saw in the pictures were not residents here.) There’s a sense of community. On my first night here one of the residents came to my table and asked if she could sit with me. And she introduced me to this lovely community. I never have to eat by myself.”
“I found Graduate House online and before I even arrived I was welcomed and felt very comfortable. I’ve met so many wonderful people – more than just those of us who are seated around this table. We’re a big and supportive community.”
“My professor suggested that I come here to Graduate House for just a very short period whilst I looked for more permanent accommodation for the six months that I will be in Australia. But I liked it and have decided to stay for the whole time here. I must say though that I was looking for reviews of Graduate House on the internet on Google, Tripadvisor etc. and I couldn’t find anything.” “I had always wanted to stay in a residential college, and when I came to Australia I had the opportunity. I chose the cheapest residential college, which was not Graduate House. But I soon realised that Graduate House is more suitable for people my age, and its rules are more relaxed, so I eventually came here. I really like meeting people with different and broader life experiences.”
Martin:
Thank you for giving me such lovely insights. Let me now ask you, if we could change just one thing about Graduate House to make it even better, what would you suggest?
“Keep the common room kitchen open longer. This is the kitchen that we can do our own cooking in. They close it at 7.00 p.m. This is so early. It would be lovely to cook ourselves sometimes and share the food with others. Some of us come from countries where we don’t even think about eating until much, much later.”
“It would be nice to have some sports facilities, like a small gym or a sauna. I’m sure it would appeal to many residents.”
“I would like more events that residents can participate in. Like going bowling, or arranging to go out to eat somewhere, or going to the cinema, or having a board game night; perhaps the sort of thing that we could do once or twice a month. It could be a nice way of us meeting some residents whom we only see in the dining room. It brings people together.” “Some of us have travelled to parts of Victoria and even interstate. And recently, fifteen of us went to the ‘footy’! Perhaps this too could be encouraged more.”
“I’ve loved going on trips with other residents. It has been a great feeling getting to know each other more. It makes you feel that you are part of a special community – your Graduate House family. And this leads to simple things like someone asking how your day has been. Simple but special! You don’t have to join in everything, and your privacy is always respected, but you also know that if you want to, you will be welcomed warmly by others.”
Martin:
This gives me an idea. If I could give you a free ticket to go to a lovely orchestral concert next week by the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra at the Melbourne Recital Centre, would you like to go? It is a superb orchestra comprising many young musicians, and the concert venue itself has a reputation for its brilliant acoustics. The concert is next week.
[Everyone accepted – along with some of their friends!]
“More friendly places to sit and relax would be nice. There is a little courtyard alongside the dining room; perhaps this could be made to look more appealing with easier access. At present, it’s not really inviting. And there are also other places that could be made more accessible for relaxing and just meeting other residents.” “It’s lovely having the new grand piano here. Some of us are quite competent pianists, but, of course, we did not bring any of our music here with us. It would be really helpful if there was a cupboard that had a range of sheet music that we could play. We can’t play from memory all of the music that we have learned, but it would be lovely if we could have access to a range of printed music across many genres that we could read`and play for ourselves and others.”
“We need proper blinds in our rooms that block out the light. It is so bad that some of us are trying different ways of covering up the windows so that we aren’t woken by the light so early in the morning – a few of us are even using duvets to cover the window! One resident even gave me an eye mask, which helped.”
“I know they are doing some renovating with tiles in the new building; some rooms have been done, but the carpet in my room in the central block is old, stained and threadbare. I hope they will continue making the floors nice. It’s pretty grubby at present.”
“Some of us from overseas have been really surprised to see that the dining room is covered with carpet! A dining room with carpet!”
“It would be nice if breakfast could continue until 9.00 in the morning – to close the kitchen at 8.30 is a little too early for those of us who have been working into the late hours of the evening or early morning.”
“And it would be nice if the main kitchen attached to the dining room could remain open until 8.00 in the evenings. Some of us are not used to having dinner so early.”
“Having said all of this, I think that we would all agree that Graduate House is already doing a pretty nice job in accommodating us. We have just been highlighting things that would make the experience even better. But it would be nice to have even further opportunities to engage and exchange more. If we were in Spain at this time [9.00 p.m.] we would just be starting to think about having dinner. But here, the place is already largely deserted.” “I think all of these ideas are really, really good. But I want to go back to Instagram again: I think the pictures there are a little bit sad – mostly of old white men and just a few young people. We need more pictures that show the vitality of the place that we have experienced tonight. When I think of the pictures on Instagram I think that these are what you show for a retirement home. If you want to attract younger people you have to show something different. One of the strengths of Graduate House is this community. This is basically what we have been saying throughout this evening’s conversation. Highlight it more! Let people know that they are going to meet a lot of interesting people from all over the world. Some of the events that have been held since I have been here have not had wide appeal. It you want to attract younger people give more thought to what you offer. And if you want to attract younger people you have to do something about your marketing. Some of the talks that have been given since I have been here will not, in general, engage younger people. Highlight more the strength of this broad and diverse community! (And whilst lunchtime events might be appropriate for some people – this might not necessarily be the case for the majority of people.)“
“I think that it would be nice to meet the members of the Council. We can see their names and photos – but it would be nice to engage with them from time to time.”
Martin:
You have been wonderful and so delightfully forthcoming in your reflections and suggestions. I will make certain that the Council members read what you have said (and
I will arrange for you to meet them!)
Thank you for sharing such frank insights. All of us at Graduate House are indebted to you. I wish you every success not only for your time here – however short it is in some instances – but into the future.
Special thanks to Councillor of The Graduate Union, Emeritus Professor Martin Comte OAM who worked tirelessly with our Publication team to bring you a year-long series of interviews with our residents. These interviews were initiated to commemorate the significant milestone of our celebration ‘Graduate House: 60 years a Residential College’ in 2022. To all the residents who took part in these interviews, we thank you and we wish you the best in 2023.
In the foyer of the Melbourne Recital Centre after the performance
