Bethany

In five years...I’ll probably still be studying. Although I had always thought that a Bachelor degree would be quite enough after thirteen years at school, Classics has the unexpected effect of making you want to keep going. There are just so many places, people, time-periods and texts to discover, and so much to read and write about all of them. My high school Latin teacher described it as ‘a black hole: you think you’ll get out, but you never do’. This sounds frightening, but actually it’s not. If you find something so rewarding and enriching in life, why on earth would you stop?

Transition from High School

I found that the transition from High School to University… was difficult, but rewarding. Suddenly study became very self-directed, and lecturers seemed to want evidence that you could think for yourself. I had to learn to question concepts that had been largely accepted as ‘fact’ at high school, and it took some time to acclimatise to such an intensely analytical approach. However, once I got the hang of it, I began to appreciate the freedom of university. It’s unsettling – being expected to have opinions and to be able to support them with research – but it also broadens the horizon, because you can discover what you’re good at, and interested in, without being told exactly what to do. This kind of exploratory experience has been very valuable – a skill that will be useful well beyond my university years!

ANU & your degree

I chose ANU...for a number of reasons. Canberra had always appealed to me as a city, and it had the advantage of being away from home – therefore representing ‘independence’ – but within easy travelling distance – for added ‘security’. Perhaps more significantly, I was aware of the reputation of the ANU, but I also knew some people who loved the university, and encouraged me to go. After visiting the ANU in Year 12, I became very keen to join the Classics department, because the staff were all friendly and enthusiastic about helping me continue my high-school ancient language studies. 

I chose my degree…by accident. I came to the ANU to do a BA, and was invited to join the PhB at the end of first year. The program appealed to me because it offered an opportunity to become more focussed in my approach to research, and to work with an academic supervisor on topics that really interested me. I have had the good fortune to work with several supervisors, all with different perspectives and strengths, which, in turn, has helped me develop as a student. 

The most surprising thing about my course...has been the breadth of skills I’ve obtained. Classics is unusual because it draws on several different disciplines – languages, literature, archaeology, anthropology and political and social history. The variety of coursework has taught me different strategies dealing with different materials, whilst allowing me to place my overall focus on the particular aspects that I prefer. I believe that this multi-faceted approach to learning will be essential both in further study and in later life.

As a student

My average day as a student…is most likely spent in the Classics Centre. It’s full of books donated by various people, and it operates as a mini library-come-study-room in the A.D. Hope building. It’s nice to be surrounded by evidence that there are other people who understand your unusual interests – ‘Latin. Right. Isn’t that a dead language?’ – and are just as keen as you are to talk about things that (may or may not have) happened thousands of years ago.  

As an ANU Student... I would recommend the place without question. It’s a small university, so there’s not so much of the feeling that you’re disappearing amongst all these people, but it’s full of great minds! Personally, I’ve found that it’s easier here to feel like a person, not a student ID number. The university has a self-sustaining energy that is very supportive as a (terrified) first year student. 

Advice

My advice to prospective students considering ANU…is simple – don’t hesitate. Even if Canberra turns out not to be your kind of place, I guarantee that you won’t regret getting to know the university.