Archibald Gemmill

I chose Medley because it seemed community-focussed with quite a homely atmosphere. I wanted somewhere where I could feel comfortable. University life can be very intense and competitive so I needed a good space that would contrast that, for my mental health.   At Medley it’s really social and nice, and everyone is so incredible about what they do here.   It’s so motivating. And I feel that even the building reflects that. It’s a formal, incredible old mansion but has the name ‘Benvenuta’ which means ‘welcome’ in Italian. It’s fitting.

I was thorough looking through the intercollegiate website when researching colleges. There were different drawcards for each one.  For me it was Medley’s size and the fact that it had the right combination of excellence, so I felt I would be academically encouraged to go for things and build my confidence, combined with that small family feel.

None of the activities are enforced here. You just sign up if you feel like contributing to the community. There are a lot of lowkey activities to participate in and you don’t have to stick to a rigid timetable. You just sign up and it’s a completely no pressure thing which is really cool.

I have recently joined the Events Planning sub-committee, and I’m really looking forward to it contributing to the SC.

The food is really good and tasty, but I feel like it’s about more than just having a meal. When I go into the dining hall, I can just go in, sit with anyone and start chatting.  Everyone is inspiring and passionate and doing something cool every day.  It’s the whole ‘vibe’, the atmosphere. It's also nice that the staff come down for lunch too. It makes it so much more connected. The small size of Medley facilitates this feeling as well. The staff know everyone.

I also feel that if you have an issue you want to discuss with the staff, you don’t have to make it super formal by organising a meeting. You can mention it over lunch and it’s really easy. Just feeling known makes it a lot less intimidating.

The Cybec scholarship has helped me afford to live at Medley and have this experience. The university is huge and when I go to campus it can feel anonymous, but when I return to Medley I feel ‘known’.  And when I walk down the footpath and look back and see this incredible building I go ‘wow I live here’. It’s an amazing feeling to have!