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!

Undertaking the Bachelor of Design (Architecture) course has been a dream come true as I always aspired to becoming a designer and an architect. Being enrolled in 2015 at the prestigious, world renowned Deakin University has been a stepping stone in directing my endeavours as a future professional into successfully delivering sustainable, durable and innovative solutions centred towards the demands of society. Reaching the Deakin Geelong Waterfront Campus as a novice student, I was nervous about finding my way to the lecture hall but was helped by a polite student representative who was very kind to guide me to the respective lecture hall. This was a wonderful start of an amazing journey and this enriching experience shall forever remain cherished in my mind and definitely helped me shape my bearings towards achieving a successful career in architecture.

“Deakin inspires creativity, innovation through technology and most importantly, helps us to become who we truly want to be.”

The well-disposed, benevolent teaching and non-teaching staff have really assisted me throughout the course as their approach has been a very considerate and good-hearted one with supportive tutors, friends and teammates all along the way. With the pioneering of new software and new technology, Deakin has pushed us to define new boundaries, new thresholds in all of the fields of study as well as in the industry, proved by its well-settled and powerful alumni and excellent teachers. Printing a three dimensional maquette or modelling an existing block of the city and assessing its performance are some of the everyday happenings at the hustling and bustling A+B Architecture studio. With those assets at hand, the possibilities are infinite and Deakin has effectively given us a glimpse of this brand-new world we are designing for.

Deakin Waterfront Campus in Geelong

The unit ‘Building Environmental Studies’ has been very exciting for me in regards to learning and self-development skills. The charismatic character of this exemplary unit did quench our underlying curiosity of finding new ways of building and engineering the right methods of calculation, whilst keeping in mind the long-term results performed by this well-thought out and orchestrated new design. I look forward to having further opportunities to engage this newly acquired knowledge into my other designs and set this as a principle to follow as a future architect.

“This enriching experience shall forever remain cherished in my mind and will definitely help me shape my bearings towards achieving a successful career in architecture.”

Having grown up on a cropping property in the West Midlands of England I have always had a passion for agriculture. After spending 2 years working in a contract mustering team in Northern Australia, I recognised the diversity and scope in the agricultural industry. After realising the vast range of job opportunities, the agricultural industry in Australia had to offer me, I began to research means to expand my skills, knowledge and education of Australian agriculture which is how I came across Marcus Oldham.

Marcus Oldham stood out instantly as the superior agricultural tertiary educator in Australia after meeting some of the alumni across the country. The practicality of the course and the use of industry placements allows students to apply the knowledge throughout the course and explore various sectors. This was the element of the college that I enjoyed the most.

The Marcus Oldham experience gave me exposure to many different sectors of the industry, this has allowed me use my industry placement to work in several areas that I had never even considered. The network that is provided by the college has also been invaluable in developing knowledge in the Australian agricultural industry, from fellow students, alumni and company contacts.

The culture in Australia and within Marcus Oldham is one of the main reasons why I enjoy living in Australia. The comradery within the college itself is a direct reflection of the country’s ‘Can Do’ attitude.  Fellow students have a wide range of backgrounds and experience providing an environment where I have not only learnt from lectures but fellow students.

Studying abroad has allowed me to not only learn more about the agriculture industry but it has allowed me to travel within Australia and to countries close by that would usually be a significant distance!

I am currently studying 3^rd year agribusiness and hope to become involved in the beef industry, my industry placement allowed me to gain valuable experience that will put me in a good position to achieve this.

Studying abroad allows you not only to learn from the educational institution but from the culture, allowing you to get a learning experience that is completely unique. Come and visit Australia and spend some time in the Australian agriculture industry, its diverse, exciting and progressive. Not to forget there are some pretty good sights to see!

I still study at The Gordon, I chose it because I wanted to study Diploma of Community Services Work in the place that is accredited by ACWA (Australian Community Workers Association) and The Gordon was (still is) the only one in Geelong which could provide it.
I love being a student at The Gordon, simply because we have very passionate, skilled and very experienced teachers, who teach us the most important things about the welfare work, values and beliefs.

It is good to be part of a team, who also teaches you what is important in life, how to see from another perspective, how to critically think about things around us and be actively involved in the world. I am not working in that field yet, but I am sure I will be well prepared for employment after I finish my study. We are learning things that are relevant to welfare work and we are challenged and empowered at the same time - to learn more, to research, to be open to discover further and to build up our strengths and skills to become better workers.

Being the only international student in the class of 25 Australians is definitely a very good experience, especially because I have got the opportunity to improve my English skills, to get insight into Aussie slang and to find out more about Australian lifestyle, customs, habits, culture.

I wouldn't want it any other way!