Connected Conversations | Rosie Bond

Tell us about yourself.

Hi! I’m Rosie Bond and I am a Student Experience and Retention Officer. A large part of what I do at the University of Adelaide is help students go from receiving their offer to enrolling, and then trying to make sure that our students have a great experience when they are here, whether that’s through running BBQs for students or being able to connect them with the support that they may need. At the moment I’m living in Glenelg with my fiancé and my parents, in my childhood home, as my fiancé and I have a house that is currently under construction. We are both very fortunate to be able to work from home, and we are even luckier that we have separate rooms to work in, so we aren’t in each other’s space all of the time. 

How have the current changes at University impacted your daily routine?

It’s been great not having to catch public transport to work but it also means that I am moving a lot less each day. Other than that, I’m still keeping normal working hours to make sure that I’m able to concentrate on tasks and can walk away from my emails at a certain time each day. 

What do you miss most about physically being at University?

The people, both students and staff. While we are very lucky to have access to platforms like Zoom, it just doesn’t replace the ability to have a conversation face-to-face, or even just bounce ideas off someone in person as they pop into your head. 

Has the current situation enabled you to do more/less in your area of work?

It’s just changed the way that I do my job. My job involves student experience and a huge part of that is the connection to our campuses, including events throughout the semesters. The focus at the moment is to try to check in with as many students as possible to see how they are doing and then to support everyone as best we can in these times. 

Name one thing during this time that has been pleasantly surprising for you.

How understanding and patient people have been during this time. There have been a lot of changes to everyone’s lives, but people understand this is something we have never been through before and that we are working hard to support everyone to the best of our abilities.

What are you doing to stay motivated?

I’m still keeping a routine which is really important for me. I prepare my lunches for the week on Sundays; I am eating well and exercising daily to make sure I get a good hit of endorphins! I also find that breaking my work day into smaller tasks makes sure that I’m able to achieve something every day, which does wonders for keeping me motivated–the satisfaction of being able to cross something off of my to-do list is second to none at the moment! 

What are you doing to stay connected to your peers, friends, family etc?

We have a team meeting on Zoom each morning which is a great way to check-in with everyone. I am also having virtual catchups with friends and co-workers from different areas ofthe University where we can chat, play a quiz or virtual card game together. I’ve been trying harder to check-in with my friends and family who are interstate or overseas on a more regular basis, as some of them are currently in more challenging situations than we are in South Australia.

Name three things you won’t miss about this current moment in time.

Not being able to go out –whether to a bar, restaurant, shop or even the gym. Not being able to see friends and family in person and not being able to plan weekends away, holidays or anything with real certainty. 

And the three things you won’t forget...

The community spirit (with the exception of hoarding toilet paper), our ability to adapt quickly and Tiger King.