Written by Elizabeth Ellul Hawes
The curtains are about to fall on my three-year stretch at the University of Malta. And I’m looking forward to graduate later on this year. I embarked on this fruitful journey giving it my best shot. Having had my eye on the Bachelor of Communications (Hons) degree, I took the plunge without looking back.
During 2019, life as we knew it turned topsy-turvy by Covid-19 and I realised it was time to make this dream come true. Does it take a pandemic to change one’s lifestyle? In my case, it did.
What are the challenges mature students have to face? To start with, one needs to open up to various modes of thinking than what one is used to. I call it ‘de-learning’ what one knows and being receptive to innovative ideas. An example of this was when we had a module on digital games. I was apprehensive whether or not I could make it. The last instance I had indulged in a digital game was a couple of times with my kids sweating and shouting over Crash Bandicoot.
I learnt about the benefits of being in a community of gamers. How they bond when under pressure to perform academically. I learnt the positive aspects of gaming such as stress relief, bringing together people with the same interests, the rules of play as well as the growing worldwide industry that gaming is.
In the end I managed to get the credit. The Bachelor of Communications (Hons) study units are extensive. There were modules which I was not interested in to start but then tickled my fancy. I ended up enjoying them immensely. I knew that this degree would expose me to various disciplines. And that’s what I was after.
Another challenge being a mature student is that one has left the formal education system a while back. So getting into the routine and understanding what was going on was quite demanding. I have always sought to further my education but University is a different ball game where an ongoing commitment is a must.
Being somewhat older than the rest of the class, at times I got the feeling I wasn’t part of the community. I started University with the notion that younger mates would gel and form their own groups and would not want to interact with others. I was wrong. The first student who came up to me me was young and was about to change his course of studies. We talked about the various modules we would have to go through. We talked about the hurdles to overcome in order to achieve the ultimate reward. Others were
extremely helpful and the age gap didn’t matter at all.
I cannot not mention the dreaded lectures on Zoom. One has to bear in mind that the cohort that started university in 2019 had to stick to social-distancing rules. Lectures were held online. Masks had to be worn and there was an unexplained fear in the air of contracting some dreaded virus. Not the ideal situation to join an institute of learning. The lecturers at Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences did their best, adapting to changing circumstances. I felt for the young freshers who had to go through the first year at Tal-Qroqq under those conditions. The photos illustrating this article show the Campus liking like a ghost quod. On a lighter note, I remember when masks were no longer obligatory. We tended to look at faces without the masks and got an uncanny view of facial features. This also happened when we came physically face to face with the lecturers. They looked pecurial compared to what they looked like on Zoom.
I’d like to express my gratitude to all the lecturers, particularly Prof. Ġorġ Mallia, and thank one and all at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences. Thanks to my fellow students for the past memorable three years. ‘Once a Bachelor, always a Bachelor’ a lecturer told me once. I’ve kept this truism in mind to help me reach my goal. It’s been one hell of a roller coaster ride which I’m glad I booked.