#WEMELD Meets: Tatiana Gladilshchikova

Tatiana is a brilliant Video Editor at Meld and  screen enthusiast: she’s ready to talk about the next best TV shows and movies.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself (name, major/career, a bit more about what you do at meld, etc.)

My name is Tatiana, and I study Screen Production at Swinburne University. I like doing everything film and video-related, and so I work as a videographer and video editor at Meld. Granted, we haven’t had many opportunities to film lately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we’ve been still experimenting with various video content which could be relevant to the current situation.

Q: Why did you decide to join Meld community?

I was excited to join Meld as I wanted to connect with other international students and hopefully pass my (somewhat limited) experiences on to them. Furthermore, Meld allowed me to utilise my skills and “make myself useful” – and that is always a great feeling.

Q: What support would you like to see for international students? Is there enough being done right now?

Although I believe that there are many support services available for international students at the moment, and universities offer good study, work and housing support, these are little things that are often put on the back burner just to suddenly overwhelm newcomers. What are the best places to shop? Does Kmart sell tyres or tea towels? How does a myki work? Can I really not top up on trams? Sure, everyone figures these things out eventually, but moving to a new country is already stressful, and a few extra handy guides would help to reduce that stress – and save a few bucks.

Q:What challenges have you faced as an international student in Australia?

As many international students, I’ve had difficulty finding a job in Melbourne. Our lack of local experience and inability to immediately provide Australian referees puts us at a disadvantage. Furthermore, although I know my work rights, I discovered that, unfortunately, some employers would prefer if I didn’t. However, I remain hopeful that all international students can eventually beat the odds by putting in the extra effort.

Q: Are there any international students that you look up to as role models and why?

Look, James Wan may not really be an “international student” as his family came to Australia when he was a kid and his experiences were thus largely different. Still, it’s hard not to be inspired by his success in the global film industry – and that should count for something (even if I’m not a big fan of the horror genre myself).

Q: Why do you think it’s important to increase the awareness of the challenges that international students are facing?

You don’t know what you don’t know. There are many people who are always happy to share useful tips or help out with settling in – but it’s also easy to slip into that comfortable belief that everyone around us must be just like we are. Such belief comes from a good place, but it is important to acknowledge that people do have different experiences: only by recognising it, we can address everyone’s needs. While differences in our experiences make the world an exciting place, they can sometimes also make it difficult for international students to adjust to new, unfamiliar surroundings. But if we increase the awareness of challenges intentional students might be facing, it would be just so much easier for anyone willing (including other international students) to lend a helping hand.

 

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