I am a postgraduate student from China, currently in my second semester at the University of Sydney, majoring in Cultural Studies. This may be a surprise for some, as more popular majors among Asian parents tend to be business, law, or computer science. Cultural Studies can seem like an unusual choice.
Cultural Studies focuses on how power is produced, reproduced and challenged through cultural practice in everyday life, like media, language and identity. I was attracted to this as it aligns with my interests – watching films, reading novels, and playing video games. I love analysing the deeper cultural meanings and power relations in these media. After graduation, I want to do work for the social good and provide support to minority groups – like at The Social Deck (TSD).
What I do & learn in TSD
Coming to TSD for an internship might be the luckiest thing that’s happened to me in my study life. My advisor matched me with TSD and my undergraduate major, Business English. I worked on Tuesdays at TSD on a variety of projects and tasks. I compiled media summaries for projects, wrote a social media user guide and did research on third party distribution channels.
I also enjoyed undertaking some plain English training which was very helpful and refreshed my perspective. Theories I learned on campus were a small stream—TSD was the aqueduct that guided them into a wider river. Although the professors often asked us to consider the inequities of marginalised groups in society, I had a hard time thinking about the language issue, even though I am learning English. The writing training impressed me a lot. Because of how multicultural Australia is, many people speak English at a basic level. I learnt the importance of using plain English to help people understand. Caring for diverse communities is not only about policies, but also about the details—like using plain English and diverse images, which reflect TSD's respect for multiculturalism and for every individual.
Another highlight for me was helping on a project that aims to raise awareness of new classifications of video games with gambling-like content. My personal interest in video games and the concept of working on a project that could prevent potential harm from playing video games appealed to me. I developed a media summary for this project to help understand key messages in the media and public sentiment. Working on this project reminded me that no matter how fast the world develops, there are still social problems in all fields that need attention.
In the future
I want to engage in the social sector because I know that as long as people live in society, there will continue to be social issues – these issues will evolve as our world and technology advances. I want to be part of the solution to new social problems.
While there aren’t many B-Corps in China, I hope to be able to join B-Corp back home. A global reality is that it is very difficult for young people majoring in social sciences to find a job and as a result many students hold pessimistic attitudes towards social sciences. But during my internship at TSD, I saw hope. I saw a place that valued a person with my background and experience and trying to tackle social issues. These issues require sensitive and caring people to work with communities and solve them. I believe that the world should be peaceful, that everyone should respect each other, and that different cultures communicate on an equal footing.
At TSD, my colleagues showed me there is good work being done to support marginalised groups. I have enjoyed my time learning from the team from their engagement experts, communication specialists and behavioural scientists. However, I’m still in the ivory tower, and bridging theory with practice—while facing the complexities of the real world—remains a challenge for me. Even though the road ahead is tough, I still want to move forward along it.
Advice for other interns
My advice for other interns looking at a place like TSD, is to come with an inclusive heart and an open mind! Don't be nervous or scared. The TSD team is super friendly! Everyone is very willing to help you!
I'm grateful to everyone at TSD. Thank you all for your help. The most important thing is to thank my supervisors, Jamie and Sandra. When I first arrived, I was very nervous, Jamie and Sandra relieved my tension and anxiety. This has been a rare internship and life experience—the feeling of getting along with so many friendly people and working together towards social good is truly precious and worthy of gratitude.
.jpg)
