Why I Chose Massey University | Study With New Zealand
For most students who live in developing countries, having the opportunity to study in a first world country is a personal and academic dream.
By being able to study in a different country, international students have the chance to improve English skills, be a part of an excellent institution and live and understand a different culture, which is an important factor to open the mind. In my case, it wasn’t any different. My choice of coming to New Zealand and to Massey University's Auckland Campus has been worth it since the first day I arrived here in “Middle Earth”.
Everything started one year ago when I was at the end of my Master’s in Social Psychology in Brazil. I had the opportunity to apply for a government funded scholarship to do my PhD in any country of my choice – I only needed to be accepted by the university of my interest.
It wasn’t an easy process as there were many Brazilians interested in this opportunity. Fortunately, I was one of the students approved and I received a scholarship. Choosing a country to be my new home for the next three or four years was also hard because there is a wide range of great universities around the world with amazing post-graduation programmes. In my case, a few things made the difference in choosing the best academic environment for me…
The thing of utmost importance to me was that my choice should be led by my academic aspirations. I wanted my new university to be a place where I would be surrounded by good researchers of my field of interest. I found that one of the most important researchers in Cross-cultural Psychology is a professor at Massey- a coordinator of international associations and the author of several papers that had an amazing impact in this field. From this moment on, I started to search more about Massey and New Zealand.
One of the things I discovered at Massey is the Recreation Centre, which holds many social and physical activities. This is an essential aspect of student life for me because there I can empty my mind, have contact with other students in a non-academic environment, and leave the stressful part of being a PhD student behind. Being social is a basic need in the university life because it helps you to feel included and psychologically healthy.
Massey seemed to be an excellent institution with a wide range of opportunities within New Zealand. Utilising many campuses around the country, Massey provides students with all the support needed to develop research in the best way possible. In Psychology especially, we are offered excellent financial support to present our academic research in conferences or other academic activities, which is extremely helpful. I also found many social possibilities around the campus, something that is also quite important in the life of a student.
In addition to these initial points, by coming to Massey I have the chance to live three years of my life in one of the most beautiful countries in the world where some of the most breath-taking landscapes exist. Additionally, New Zealand is a country with great levels of social equality and security, and immigrants are treated with extreme respect. Here I feel like a part of the country; I feel respected, immersed in the amazing national culture, and almost like an “All Black”. These reasons along with the excellent experiences that I have had here so far make me certain that I am in the right institution and in the right country.
In New Zealand, and especially at Massey, I hope to achieve my goals and to have a spectacular cultural exchanging experience, which is certainly a lifetime opportunity that I am looking forward to embrace.
This story was originally published on Massey Vibes and is republished with permission.
About the contributors
Roosevelt is completing his PhD in Psychology at Massey University. Originally from a small Brazilian town, Serra Branca, he chose to study in New Zealand to have a "spectacular cultural exchanging experience".