Upper Hutt’s Callum Tokorangi has been selected as one of 10 first-year University of Auckland students to write for The Inside Word, the university’s blog.
From Fresher Flu to the perils of wet weather, one former Upper Hutt College student is detailing the highs and lows of his first year at university.
Callum Tokorangi was one of 10 first-year students selected to write for the University of Auckland’s official blog The Inside Word.
Every fortnight one of his posts, written on anything from life in the halls to exam-time stress, will be posted online to show others what life is like for him in tertiary education.
The 18-year-old wrote his first post And so it begins a couple of weeks ago, complete with tips on the importance of umbrellas and how not to get sick in a university hall. With his next deadline looming, he’s chosen to write about getting into the swing of uni life.
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“It’s nice to just be open about [my experiences].”
Tokorangi hadn’t had much experience blogging before but, while reading The Inside Word last year, he came across a post asking for interested writers to apply for blogging positions.
He wrote an entry for his application in early January, on the feeling of “inbetweenness” he was having after finishing secondary school and before starting university. A couple of weeks later, he found out he landed one of the positions.
The switch from writing essays for school to blogging was a bit of a challenge but he was enjoying it.
“You have a bit more freedom to be a bit more casual [when blogging]. It’s like talking to someone and having a normal conversation.”
So far, he’s found the best way to write up his pieces is to head up to the common room on the eighth floor of his hostel, University Hall, put on a good Spotify playlist and “knuckle down”.
Other students were often hanging out there and he could bounce ideas off them, he said.
Tokorangi moved to Auckland about a month ago and is studying a conjoint Law and Arts degree with a major in Politics and International Relations.
* To read Tokorangi’s column, visit The Inside Word website.
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