Edlocate students speak about what living and studying in Australia has taught them
Australia is a stable, prosperous and democratic nation, but also one which is also culturally diverse, made up of “Australians” of many backgrounds, united by shared values and responsibilities. 43% of Australia’s population of 21 million were either born overseas or have one parent who was born overseas. The result is an exciting melting pot of cultures, which is inclusive and welcoming of all races, religions and ethnicities. With a strong market based economy and an abundance of employment opportunities it is also a natural choice to commence career building in a wide variety of disciplines. For most Sri Lankan students, the Australian experience is also their first shot at independent living, away from home and familiar comforts. Living in Australia being affordable, manageable and safe has meant more students enjoy this new found independence in a meaningful manner. Poorani, Arshana and Dinithi headed over to Australia to commence their University life with excitement and anxiety in equal measure. Today, well into their University careers and well acclimatized to Australia they speak unanimously in appreciation of all what the Australian Experience has offered them.
Poorani Rajkumar, a past Student of Asian International School, currently following a Bachelor of Pharmacy programme at University of Sydney summed up her experience by stating that student life in Sydney helped her to take life in to her hands and evolve as a person”. She spoke of how time management, independent living and setting limits for one’s self while enjoying University life is all part and parcel of the experience. She also detailed how the diversity of the culture in Sydney and the warmth of the community helped her to adapt and set- tle down to studies with ease. “Sydney is the place to make new friends from different cultural backgrounds and I personally believe that this is one of the reasons that have helped me settle down in Sydney a lot sooner than expected”.
The ease at which Sri Lankan students integrate in to the community as explained by Poorani is a story heard recurrently and one that is echoed by Arshana Rajadurai, a past student of Gateway College, Kandy who is currently following a Bachelor of Economics programme at Macquarie University. Arshana is involved in several student groups, the local church and even engages in tutoring to earn extra spending money whilst attending challenging academic sessions at Macquarie. Providing her impressions of the Australian system of life, Arshana states that “if people are willing to work hard and devote their time and efforts to a job, there are so many opportunities available for people of all ages”. As so many students do, both Arshana and Poorani are considering living and working in Australia following completion of their studies because they find that Australia a hard place to leave behind.
“Experiencing new methods of teaching and learning” is what Dinithi Fernandoa Bachelor of Engineering student finds most exciting about her student life at University of Wollongong. Dinithi who is a recipient of a scholarship from the University which was facilitated by Edlocate, spoke fondly of her one and a half years in Australia. While the academic experience at Wollongong is extremely rewarding she sincerely believes it is the experience of living alone which has taught her several valuable life lessons, most important being the “importance of relationships and money”. She prides herself with being able to balance all her responsibilities whilst topping her batch in the first year.
Edlocate receives these and many such testimonials from the scores of students they have served on an ongoing basis. The company currently represents 21 Universities in Australia, 7 of which is ranked as Group of Eight Universities and will be conducting one on one student interviews in August and September 2014. For further information, Edlocate counsellors could be contacted at their offices in Colombo ( 0771770361), Kandy (0815631583) or Jaffna (0212228060).
Surekha Jayasinghe surekha.jayasinghe@gmail.
com