Ela Kos is a first year tauira studying French and Chemistry- she found her community at Otago in Locals.
“You’re in a tent, its 3am, you’re wearing your oodie and passing round the chocolate - there’s going to be some deep, meaningful conversations.”
Ela Kos felt lonely when she first moved to Dunedin from her home in Australia to pursue her BASC in French and Chemistry this year – and at the time she would never have imagined she would be part of the oodie-wearing, chocolate-eating deep conversation scenario just a few months later.
“I was flatting in North East valley and struggling to meet people, which was super isolating.”
Thankfully, while hunting for a piano to practise on campus, she stumbled across Locals HQ - a space on campus with a kitchen, space to study or relax, a staff member for if people have any questions and crucially for Ela, a piano.
The Locals Collegiate Community, Te Kahui Noho-Whare, started in 2011 after it was noticed the quarter of first year students who choose to live at home, flat or board did not have the same experiences as their peers in residential colleges. By 2013, there was a full year programme of events in place. Students are automatically enrolled.
This year it celebrates a decade as an academic year-long programme, run by one of the first Locals students, and now head of programme Maya Pitcon.
“I’ve been a part of Locals for my whole adult life, it’s part of who I am,” Pitcon says.
The Locals programme runs a series of O-Week events, and then events throughout the term including Relay for Life (Where Ela was eating her 3am chocolate in an oodie), the Locals ball, SPCA cupcake day, and academic workshops, as well as competing in inter-collegiate competitions.
Ela and a group of tauira making masks for the Locals ball in Locals HQ.
Ela says tauira not living in a college can find it hard to find their community; they’re often living away from home for the first time, or still living at home and struggling to meet people other people, so it’s so nice for there to be a third space to meet and relax.
“Once I started going to practice piano, I ended up going every day. I started talking to people and getting to know everyone, and the rest is history really.
“It’s so good to have a space where the only barrier to entry is showing up. All you have to do is be there.
“The best thing is how diverse it is in Locals - you have nerdy people and sporty people, outgoing people and shy people - and there’s just this great feeling of belonging in the space, whoever you are.”
Ela is finishing her first year at Otago, and has just been accepted to be a volunteer leader at Locals next year.
“I’m basically here all the time anyway so when it comes to being a leader I’m already halfway there.”
Ela found the programme so “fantastic” that she really wanted to give back to it and keep being involved past her time as a Local.
She also has some “great ideas” about new ways to reach more people.
“It’s fantastic already, but I want to be a part of making some small changes, to help more people get access to this amazing community.”
To find out more about locals, follow this link.
Kōrero by Internal communications adviser Alice Billington