"I didn't choose my Career, my career chose me."

Florence won an international scholarship to study a Master of Architecture at Deakin University. She talks about the pathway that led her to study Architecture and how much she loves studying at Deakin.

Boarding at the Geelong College was the most amazing and unforgettable experience I've ever had. Being away from home (Jakarta, Indonesia) surely was not an easy thing to do, but it was very easy to call The Geelong College my new 'home'. In an instant, the people I met became my new family –family from all around Australia and all over the world. The friends I've made are now friends for life. We went through almost everything together. We laughed and cried together. When you're homesick, there will always be friends to cheer you up, and they all know how you feel. I learned everything from becoming independent to becoming a leader. I developed my love of baking and cooking in the boarding house kitchen. On year 12 I was voted as one of the girl's boarding house prefect.

The Geelong College provides quality formal education, and it pushes the students capacities/abilities to the limit. I enjoyed learning music. I have always enjoyed music. The Geelong College gave me so much chance to improve and be involved in music. Music lessons were provided at school, and of course I took that opportunity to learn to sing, play the guitar and drums. I also joined the school's Stage Band where I could channel my love of Jazz. I won several 'Best Vocals' with them. Upon learning music as a subject, I was chosen to sing at the VCE Top Class in 2012, an event to showcase students from all over Victoria who had a high score on their music performance exam. It started from singing in my little room, to singing in front of over 900 people. It was such a big achievement for me, as I was once a shy girl who wants to sing but didn't have the stomach to be heard.

The Geelong College has really helped me become the better and improved person I am today. I cannot express how very grateful I am of the people I met, of the experience and of the opportunity. I am now studying film at Deakin University, working on starting an online patisserie, and I still sing.

Mitul Patel from India graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Animation and Motion Capture) from Deakin University.

Hi everyone, I’m Madihah Husna Mohammad. I came from Malaysia and I am pursuing a Master of Architecture at Deakin University. Before Australia became my second home, I worked in Malaysia with my degree in Architecture from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). I had heard a lot about Deakin at that time, as it is a great choice for students who want to pursue study in architecture. When I first came here, everything was far more fun than I expected!

Remembering the experience of when I first stepped onto the land of Australia was that I was full of excitement. I can still clearly remember when I was picked up by a Deakin staff member from Melbourne Airport and he showed me around Geelong city. My first impression about the city and the country was that it was absolutely enthralling. It is a clean city, and has a great view of the waterfront. I also had opportunities to explore all the beautiful scenery here in Melbourne.

Being an international student, I have found no difficulties in making new friends and adapting to the culture. I feel no alienation here and it overwhelmed me because being a Muslim, and wearing a ‘hijab’ wrapped around my head, this foreign environment actually welcomed me. In fact, with a smaller number of Muslim students here, it surprised me to find out that the university actually had proper prayer rooms and there are even taps provided for us to take our ablutions.

Being an international student, I have found no difficulties in making new friends and adapting to the culture. Living my life here in Deakin, I have found that the people are very helpful and always support the students, particularly the staff, lecturers, and my classmates. When I had difficulties in my life, the International Student Advisers helped me a lot. Whenever I have problems in my assignment writing, I sought help from a study support consultant and the writing mentors at the library. The lecturers are always friendly and they would always greet me enthusiastically whenever I was in the school. My new friends here also made me enjoy my time at Deakin. The language barrier is not a problem.

Since stepping off the plane last year, I’ve learned that all my initial fears and worries were unnecessary. Being an international student in a hijab has not deprived me, because living and studying at Deakin University is very multicultural and it is a welcoming society indeed!