Tag: UOC

Rising to Leadership: Embracing the Responsibility as President

As the second male president in the storied history of Rotaract Arts, I am honored to share my journey with this incredible organization that has profoundly shaped my life and the lives of many others. When I first joined the Rotaract Club, I was filled with excitement and a desire to make a difference. Little did I know that this decision would lead me to a transformative journey filled with challenges, growth, and unforgettable memories. In my early days as a member, I quickly learned that Rotaract was more than just a club—it was a family. I was surrounded by passionate, driven individuals who were committed to serving the community and fostering personal and professional growth. This supportive environment encouraged…

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Signing Off: Closing Reflections from a Secretary

My Rotaract journey began in 2022, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. We had online lectures, and I was itching to get to university, but there was no way for it. Then, I saw this Rotaract flyer fluttering around like a hopeful butterfly. Thinking it was a great excuse to visit the university, I decided to join the club. I had no clue what Rotaract was about. I was a bit nervous since I knew no one in the club or at the university. But I challenged myself, determined to make it work no matter what. The first friend I made in Rotaract was Manthini. We met while donating books to a community service project.…

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A place of Growth and Experience

Getting enrolled in a university and continuing my higher education was the biggest dream I had when I was schooling, mainly because of external motivation: the norm that you can’t get a proper status in society without a university education. However, as I grew, I became aware of the significance of getting into a university, and mostly a state university, specifically after discovering the subject area in which I excelled. I should say that it was during my time in the AL class that I found my talent and had a greater enthusiasm for my studies. Before that, I was just a hopeless girl who did her education because of the push of her parents. Hence, the University of Colombo…

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Our Kinda Universe

I have always thought that my life is just a continuation of second options… When I passed the grade five scholarship exam, I never got into the school of my choice - well,my parents’ choice to be exact, for my kid self had no idea what was going on, I never got intothe school my friend and I hope to enroll together after O/Ls. For me, it has always been thesecond option, never the first. So, when I did not get selected for the university that I had alwaysdreamt of enrolling in, it was just another “oh” kind of situation. Nothing to do about that, justthink of what you got not what you lost. It didn’t affect me much and…

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Balancing Act: A Look into My Journey with Rotaract

My journey with the Rotaract Club at the University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts, began in 2022 when I joined as a member. Since then, I've participated in every project, gaining valuable experience and skills. One of my early milestones was working as a co-chair with Jehan, the current president, for the O'Santa Christmas Party. This role taught me many lessons and developed my leadership skills, which helped me become Vice President in 2023. I'd like to take a moment to express my special thanks to Jehan and Gethmi for believing in me. Their support has been a great motivation. As Vice President, I took on many responsibilities, further enhancing my knowledge and leadership skills. My co-vice president, Induwara, has…

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Stepping Up: A Year of Fun, Challenges, and Impact

The clearest memory I have of my first days as an undergraduate was signing up for Rotaract and joining the online orientation program of the club. With online learning taking control, apart from attending the university on the day of the placement test, I had no need to step into the university. It was Rotaract that gave me the reason to come to university during the first semester of my first year. Therefore, it's right to say that my university life would not have been the same if not for Rotaract. . My first year as a Rotaractor enabled me to experience days of endless fun, happiness, and whatnot. We were on a journey, making memories with friends who felt…

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The Universe of the University of Colombo

University of Colombo was a fever dream. Stepping through those gates knowing anyone but myself was a challenge I quietly yet gradually overcame with time. The first two weeks were the hardest, I am not your typical extrovert who would strike up a conversation with a passers-by, (I’m not, Uvinya. You can sit down) it took me time to settle into the routine, and understand the lectures and meet my clique, I guess. To add to that, I was miles away from home, staying in a random place and the homesickness that takes you over in the first few days, with no homemade meals and just you in a small room you rented is not just lonely, sometimes a little…

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From Fresher to Treasurer: A Year of Friendship, Service & Growth

I started my Rotaract journey when I was in my first year at university. When I got selected for Colombo University, one of my friends who is currently studying there inspired me to join Rotaract. I was so excited to join Rotaract after hearing about his experiences and seeing pictures of him working on Rotaract projects at the University of Colombo's Science Faculty. As the COVID pandemic was there, we had online lectures in the first semester of our first year. However, I used to come to the university for sports practices. So it was a great opportunity for me to engage in physical activities done by the club. My first year at Rotaract was full of joy and excitement.…

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365 Days at the University!

පිනි පොද වැස්සක් බිම තෙමන හවස් වෙලාවක ඒ හැගීම විදගෙන පොතක් කියවන එක හරිම වෙනස් හැගීමක්. අද හවස මං හිතුවා ඒ වැස්ස දිහා බලගෙන මේ වචන ලියන්න. අනධ්‍යන වැඩවර්ජනය නිසා කැම්පස් එක වහලා ගෙදරටම කොටුවුණු 49 වෙනි දවස අද. සහ වැදගත්ම දේ මේ මාසේ වෙද්දී මං කැම්පස් ඇවිත් හරියටම අවුරුද්දක්! සමහර වෙලාවට නිවාඩු තියෙන එක හොදයි කියලා හිතුණත්, මේ මගහැරෙන්නේ කැම්පස් එකේ ලස්සනම දවස් කියන එකත් හිතෙන්නෙ නැතුවම නෙමෙයි. කොහොමහරි මගේ කැම්පස් ජීවිතයේ මෙතෙක් ගත වුණු ලස්සන දවස්, නරක දවස් මේ වචන අස්සේ ගොනු කරන්න තමයි මං මේ හදන්නේ. කැම්පස් යනවා කියලා මං ඉස්සෙල්ලම හිතාගත්තෙත් 9 වසරේ අගෝස්තු වගේ කාලෙක. ඒ පේරාදෙණිය කැම්පස් එකෙන් කරපු තරගෙකින් දිනලා ඒකෙ සහතික ගන්න ගියපු දවසේ. එදා මං පේරදෙණිය කැම්පස් එක දැකපු විදිහ දැණුනු…

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Daydreams and Detours

When the UNI Verse project launched its second phase, I wasn’t too interested in writing anything,thinking who would be interested in a narration of my routine university experience so far. Yet, I had nochoice but to write. Interestingly, an Instagram post shared by a friend flicked something in my scatteredmind to streamline memories from my first year at university, and I began to realize that university life isquite the rollercoaster. Before delving into reflections, I’ll backtrack a bit. Securing a spot at the University of Colombo waspretty much what I always desired, mainly for wanting to continue to take comfort in the city that hasalways been home. That Instagram post, though - it struck a chord. The post shared by…

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