Residence Hall Mentors

It was so much fun! My beadwork didn't turn out well — it came out all crooked — but listening to the teacher talk about Orchid Island I learned a lot and got to know the island much better. It was really fun!!! I'll definitely keep coming to residence hall events; they're fun and you learn so much!!!

It was great. I learned a lot of genuinely practical things and picked up plenty of new knowledge, and I even made lots of new friends. For me this talk wasn't just about gaining knowledge — it was also a great way to build connections! Many thanks to the organisers for putting on such a rich and meaningful talk. I got so much out of it!

This talk was really worthwhile for me. I'll be job hunting soon, so hearing this information about finding work was very useful — it adds to my soft skills for interviews and will help me put my ideas across better.

Today I took part in a hands-on shuttle weaving workshop, and it was great fun and full of surprises. The teacher first introduced the basic tools and steps, then walked us through them — from threading to weaving, every detail took focus and patience. I was a little all over the place at first, but once I found my rhythm and saw the threads cross into a pattern of my own, it was really satisfying. It relaxed me and let me experience the charm of a traditional craft; the joy of finishing something with my own hands is hard to beat. I'm so glad I had the chance, and I hope there'll be more hands-on activities like this.

The teachers were all very patient. It was my first time weaving, and although I have no eye for design and mine came out crooked, the cloth still has its own style — a special experience in its own way! I've never been good with my hands, ever since primary school, but this was easy to follow and I didn't get flustered. I'll keep this cloth as a memory of university!

Seeing the artist turn real landscape photographs into crayons made of abstract blocks of colour moved and stirred me. It felt as if memories themselves might be like that — real scenes turned into blocks of colour, kept as impressions that carry feeling. I was delighted to see each series of their work; it showed me so much that is beautiful.

Before going I didn't expect much — I thought it would be a dry, boring lecture. But it opened with a board game, which made the whole event much richer. After that the speaker paced the talk just right, so I stayed focused throughout. I learned a lot: beyond the topic of stalking itself, the speaker touched on traditional social values, ideas about gender, feminism and other things worth reflecting on. When it ended I didn't feel I'd wasted two hours on well-worn advice — it felt like two very full hours, and I'm now looking forward to the university's other talks.

I learned about pairing colours and seeing things from different angles — fallen branches and leaves, for example, turn out to be common and very practical decorations. This time I was given a poinsettia to decorate myself, and the instructor offered suggestions on arrangement. I got a lot out of it and would love to join more activities like this.

I learned about many causes of insomnia, and we were even shown how to press acupoints, which I thought was great. I don't have trouble sleeping myself, but I learned about many herbs and ways of looking after my health. I think the university could hold more traditional Chinese medicine talks like this one, so that even when we have to stay up studying we can take care of our bodies.

This talk taught me a lot about photography and photo editing — for instance, that a photographer needs to be bold and guide the subject, and that photos should look natural. I used to take pictures carelessly and didn't care how they came out, but after this talk I've learned a great deal and benefited enormously.

After this talk on depression I understand the illness much more deeply. Feeling low is not weakness; it is a condition that needs to be seen and treated. The speaker shared many cases and reminded us to respect one another's feelings, and not to brush off someone's pain with "just look on the bright side". Most importantly, depression isn't something to fear: with professional help sought early, people can gradually find their way out. The talk taught me more ways to show empathy and support.

I'm really glad I came. I thought the content would be very technical, but the speaker made it lively and fun. Beyond astronomy, they shared a lot about the attitude you bring to your work, and how to keep going with things you don't enjoy but have to do. Since the speaker isn't much older than us, they shared many experiences from their own student days, which showed me that now is the time to build myself up, so I have more to draw on in future.

The talk had a lot of personal character, and explained both the practical and the psychological sides of tidying, which gave me new ideas about it. I'm something of a minimalist myself — I don't own much and my room isn't messy — but on letting go of things I really liked one line from the speaker: tidying and decluttering are like your room's metabolism; without ongoing decluttering, things just keep piling up.

I used to shop whenever I was stressed or feeling down, and ended up with piles of things I didn't know how to sort or let go of. After the talk I learned how to categorise my belongings sensibly and tidy them effectively. I got a lot out of it and hope there will be more talks like this, so I can share them with friends whose lives are just as cluttered!

The flower-arranging session let me feel how healing nature can be. At first I held the stems clumsily, unsure how to combine them, but the teacher guided us patiently from choosing materials to composition, and every step was a pleasant surprise. The beauty and resilience of the flowers, trimmed and placed, seemed to tell a story of life. My fingers were stained with sap, but my mind grew calm and I forgot the pressure of coursework. Finishing my arrangement gave a real sense of achievement! Flower arranging is not only an art but a way of cultivating oneself, and I'll keep trying it, letting flowers bring a little poetry to everyday life.

This was my first residence hall activity — last semester the timing clashed, so I missed out — but this semester's first session gave me so much. The floral class showed me that arranging flowers, simple as it looks, is a real craft: the heights and the way you place each stem shape the final piece, and everyone's work turned out different. Seeing myself make something that looked like a master's work in just two hours felt amazing, and I'm so glad I got a place. I hope to join again next time!

I really enjoyed this activity — hands-on sessions always leave us with so much. Today's teacher works in floristry; taking a floristry class outside would usually be expensive and hard to fit in. She was very gentle and taught us step by step how to complete the piece, and I'll definitely use what I learned to make more arrangements. Seeing the finished work was so satisfying.

This was a deeply soothing and memorable experience. From choosing the materials I was drawn to the textures and colours of different flowers, and learning to arrange dried flowers, fern leaves and little figurines in the space took both an eye for design and a great deal of patience. I learned to fix delicate flowers with a hot glue gun and to wind fine fairy lights through the piece, so the whole frame glows dreamily when lit. When it was finished I felt a real sense of achievement — it is not just a decoration, but an expression of my own feelings.

Through this event I came to understand Indigenous cultures more deeply, and began to wonder whether they are gradually disappearing. I'm grateful to the speaker for their care in preserving these precious cultures and sharing them with us. The musical performance at the end was superb and made the charm of Indigenous culture all the more vivid. I believe this talk will lead more people to notice and support the passing on of Indigenous culture.

The hand tattoos are beautiful. This talk helped me understand their meanings and taboos, and the language carried by different motifs. I also agreed with the speaker's definition of culture and art — the talk itself was, as she put it, a meeting of cultures. I believe people sharing the same land can come to understand one another's cultures, and that every culture is beautiful.

The speaker was very funny, and explained emotions in many simple, easy-to-grasp ways. I've always been quite sensitive to emotions, including other people's small shifts in mood, and this talk helped me understand much better how to deal with those feelings. I loved it and hope there will be more opportunities and events like this.

I found today's talk really unusual. Sex has always felt like a private matter to me, but today we could discuss it openly, and everyone came away understanding how important personal boundaries are. The bingo at the end was great fun! I hope some time I get to hear about the speaker's experience writing the lyrics for "Rose Boy".

Today I joined a Wishlite workshop and was genuinely amazed! I'd never have guessed that dull grey recycled oyster shells could be processed into such high-quality diffuser stones.

The event gave me a whole new understanding of ocean education. Far more than dry textbook knowledge, making something by hand let me feel the beauty and endless possibilities of turning waste into something new. Bringing sustainability into everyday aesthetics makes protecting the ocean not just a slogan but an elegant way of living. Looking at the piece I made and catching its faint scent was soothing — a truly meaningful afternoon!

It was my first time at this activity — I saw it at the service desk, thought it looked pretty cool and signed up — and it was even more fun than I expected. Just the fact that the powder is ground oyster shell is so cool, and I love the whole idea: we get pretty, fragrant, eco-friendly diffuser stones and cut carbon emissions too. A big round of applause for the team — the environmental idea is great, and thank you for coming to run this at our university.

I've always loved the residence hall mentor talks, especially the recent hands-on ones. Making something in my free time is really soothing and a nice way to switch off. I've also been to the flower-arranging session and last semester's sea urchin pendant workshop and loved them both — and you get to take your work home.

What struck me most about this talk on solo travel was that it wasn't simply about where to go or how to plan an itinerary; it made me rethink what travelling alone actually means. We often imagine a trip is only complete when shared with friends or family, but the talk showed me that travelling on your own can be a precious way of sorting yourself out.

Hearing how the speaker fought through major hardships in life and still came out brave and optimistic was deeply moving, and the talk showed me how many different possibilities life holds. I hope the speaker's story encourages more people facing difficulties and gives them strength. Thank you for holding this talk.

In today's talk the speaker described injuring his spine at 17 and later going on dialysis — a life full of twists and hardship. Yet he never gave up; instead he shared the open, optimistic outlook with which he views it all, and urged us to take on things we believe impossible, and not to give up easily or end our own lives. It filled me with positive energy.

Today's talk was really helpful for relaxing body and mind. There's no set way to make a yarn ball, so there's no fear of doing it wrong or falling behind, which let me focus on my own piece. I loved this session.

I came to recognise my own emotions and why identifying them matters. Making a wrapped yarn ball taught me a small craft, and doing it after the introduction helped me understand my feelings as I worked. Thank you to the speaker for sharing, and to the university for arranging such a rich programme of residence hall talks.