Undergraduate Profiles

	Jaroslav Novak MusB Classical Performance (Honours) “Choosing what to do for four years of my life was a really big thing and I’m glad I made the decision to come to Otago.”
	Michela Carrington BA (Honours) Anthropology “After I spend a year chilling out, I’ll be ready to start thinking about coming back for a masters.”
	Julien Van Mellaerts MusB (Honours) and BA French "I encourage everyone learning a language to do an exchange or visit the country of the language they’re studying.”
	Iona Mylek BA (Honours) Politics “The final year is a real step up in interest level.  The content is so fascinating. I would really recommend doing honours.”

Profiles in detail

Jaroslav Novak, MusB Classical Performance (Honours)

Jaroslav Novak has no excuse not to practise piano – the practice room is only four minutes walk from his student flat. “I never have an excuse not to get there,” he says.

From Dunedin, the University of Otago would seem like a natural choice for him but the piano honours student thought about it carefully.

“It was because of three things actually.  There was the reputation of the department, the outcome for me and also the environment I would be studying in.

“Choosing what to do for four years of my life was a really big thing and I’m glad I made the decision to come to Otago.”

He has enjoyed getting to know other students, not just music students, and also enjoyed the variety of opportunities the Music department has offered him.

“I’ve done so many things here I had no idea I’d do like sing in an opera chorus, conduct choirs, accompany very, very good singers and teach piano to pupils as well. I also get lots of opportunities to play and have given solo piano recitals.

“I dived into everything I could find, musical or not. Otago has everything going on.”

Jaroslav, along with a few other students, has even started up his own company developing software to help people learn music.  The company won a business creation challenge through the University’s School of Business.

>> Department of Music

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Michela Carrington, BA (Honours) Anthropology

For Michela Carrington, it was her dad who made her finally decide on Otago.  After several years travelling in a variety of countries after high school she was ready to settle down to study and her Kiwi dad recommended the University.  With a home address in Queensland, it was an unusual decision until you take into account the closeness of the campus to the southern ski fields.

“Dunedin is a really awesome city.  It’s close enough to the mountains for snowboarding, and to the surf, and I don’t like big cities so it was perfect,” she says. “And there is so much going on here.  It is quite diverse.  There are many faces to Dunedin.”

Her years traveling made Anthropology a natural choice to major in. “Travelling had really opened my eyes and I was intrigued by how people live, the different social classes that exist and how governments and religions influence these.”

After finishing her honours course, Michela is looking forward to a year away from the university “getting my hands dirty” learning to grow plants organically.

“After I spend a year chilling out, I’ll be ready to start thinking about coming back for a masters.

>> Department of Anthropology, Gender and Sociology

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Julien Van Mellaerts, MusB (Honours) and BA French

The reputation of the University of Otago’s Music Department brought Julien Van Mellaerts to Dunedin from Auckland.

“I knew some people who were coming down as well and it just sounded like really good fun.”

He had learnt French at school and decided to take it as an interest paper in his first year with his music degree and soon he was hooked.

“I didn’t initially plan to do a BA but when I started studying French at university I really got into it,” he says.

So much so, he managed to slip six months living in Paris into his third year.  “I loved it.  It is the best way to get a really good taste of the language.  I encourage everyone learning a language to do an exchange or visit the country of the language they’re studying.”

He is thankful Otago’s flexible degree programmes have allowed him to combine the two subjects.  An honours degree in Music and a BA majoring in French is a five-year course with the two subjects fitting in well together.

“With music, you are often singing in another language so it all helps.  To be honest, the French has kept me sane.  I need that variety and it is also good to cover my bases.  Singing is really competitive so who knows what will happen in the future.

“It is great that it’s a five-year course because I’m not ready to leave yet.”

>> Department of Languages and Cultures
>> Department of Music

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Iona Mylek, BA (Honours) Politics

“Learning about the world and seeing how things work” is what interests Iona Mylek about Politics. 

“How you can change things, how you can contribute to make change and, as corny as it sounds, to make the world a better place.”

The honours student from Wellington is already well on her way to doing just that – fitting into her studies voluntary work for World Vision and other social justice causes, and also for SouthLife, a church in North Dunedin many students go to. 

She is enjoying the honours course.  “The final year is a real step up in interest level.  The content is so fascinating. I would really recommend doing honours.”

Her decision to come to Otago was supported by her mother. “I was definitely encouraged to leave home for uni.  Otago was my pick as I knew the university and the Politics Department had a really good reputation internationally.  And, of course, I came for the student life as well.

“The first year here I was at Arana College and it was awesome.  They really want their students to ‘work hard, play hard and work hard again’ and we certainly did that.  Everyone there is into achieving their best and I loved it.  At the end the year though, I was ready for my own freedom and have been flatting since then.” 

>> Department of Politics

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