Thinking about volunteering but not sure what you\u2019ll get out of it? Third-year Psychology student Andrew shares how joining Curtin Volunteers! helped him break out of his comfort zone, build real friendships and discover new strengths, all while making a difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When third-year Psychology student, Andrew, joined Curtin Volunteers!, he was just looking for a break from studying. What he found was a whole new community and a stronger sense of himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrew came to Curtin straight from high school and got into Psychology through a third-round offer. He had always wanted to choose a career that could make a difference in people\u2019s lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought, if I\u2019m going to work, I want it to mean something. Helping people is a value I really developed over time, especially during high school.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he\u2019s not sure if he\u2019ll become a registered psychologist, Andrew\u2019s still committed to working in the mental health field. After coming to understand the years of study required, and the independent and one-on-one setting of clinical psych, he has realised how much he appreciates collaborative settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving to Perth from New South Wales to start uni was a big adjustment for Andrew. He didn\u2019t know anyone when he arrived in WA and found it tough to make friends in a place he didn’t even know. Starting from scratch in a new city pushed him out of his comfort zone, but it also led him to Curtin Volunteers (CV!), where he\u2019s found community, connection and a chance to give back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to do something different to break the monotony. Spending all your time in a room or the library can be draining. Volunteering felt like a way to meet people and do something meaningful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Volunteering opened doors to new experiences for Andrew, including a trip to Cuballing with CV!\u2019s John Curtin Weekend program. Experiencing a small, regional town like Cuballing, with strong community spirit, he further understood how much he valued the feeling of community and connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further, Andrew has found other great benefits to volunteering, like getting to see parts of Perth and WA that he otherwise may have not gotten to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou get to explore and for a fraction of the cost as well. CV! is also a really good way to procrastinate study. It’s actually a really good way to have a break and not just sit in your room thinking: \u2018I really should be studying.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Procrastinating productively wasn’t the only reason Andrew wanted to continue his involvement with CV!. Andrew wanted to get more involved after his participation in the Skills for Success program. He had learned the skills of leadership, teamwork and real-world communication by the book, but wanted to put his learning into practice in a real-world team environment. This helped him to become a leader at CV, allowing him to liaise with community partners and helped coordinate teams of student volunteers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Andrew, one of the best parts of volunteering has been the friendships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost of my uni friends now aren\u2019t from my course\u2014they\u2019re people I met through volunteering. It\u2019s such a mix of students from different backgrounds. You\u2019ve got international students, student ambassadors, people into hobbies, people who just love helping out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Volunteering has helped him grow in confidence, too. Andrew believes he has developed better communication skills and is more open to trying new things, with volunteering as a safe environment to learn and lead. Before, he thought that volunteering didn’t really have any benefits for the volunteer as an individual. He knew that it was something the was kind to participate in but never imagined the benefit and joy that he would receive from being a volunteer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His advice? Don\u2019t underestimate how much you\u2019ll gain from giving. Volunteering isn\u2019t just about giving, it\u2019s about growing too! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Andrew joined Curtin Volunteers! for a break from study, but found connection, confidence and a community that changed his uni\u00a0experience. Now, he\u2019s\u00a0leading teams, building friendships\u00a0and loving the growth. | Reading time: 3 mins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4418,"featured_media":28095,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"4674,8039,4751,6338,4926,5401","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_oasis-categories":0,"footnotes":""},"oasis-categories":[146],"class_list":["post-28094","oasis-news","type-oasis-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","oasis-categories-student-life"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/andrew-OASIS-Student-Profile-graphic-1000x840.png","author_meta":{"first_name":"Rachelle","last_name":"Erzay","display_name":"Rachelle Erzay"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 22:40:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/28094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oasis-news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/28094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-categories?post=28094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}