It has been over a month since the Brisbane Model United Nations (MUN) Conference 2018, but it still feels like yesterday! As someone who does not participate a lot in university activities, I was very hesitant to join at first after hearing about it at a Business Advantage Entrepreneurship session. However, I thought it would enhance my international business acumen as part of my degree, so I went for it! It did exactly that and so, so much more!
You may never think a semester at university can shape your future, but I’m here to tell you – it’s possible!
I don’t even know where to start with my time at A&M but to summarise it in one phrase, I’ve had the best year of my life. Its hard to believe that almost nine months ago I boarded my flight to LAX; to say time has flown by is an understatement. I joined two organisations, which was probably one of the best decisions I made and I wouldn’t have half the time I had if I wasn’t apart of them. International Business Association allowed me to meet other exchange students in the Mays Business School, which was really helpful at the start when I first arrived because I had other people to relate to. I also joined a sophomore leadership organisation called Slide and we had a strong presence on campus promoting sexual assault awareness and mental health. 
For the last two months, I’ve been living and working in Orlando, Florida at the most magical place on earth – Walt Disney World. Now that I’ve completed all my training and have had a bit of time to settle into my role, I’ve had a chance to reflect on my experience so far.
Cinderella’s Castle looking very empty just before my first Tornado warning!
On Friday, February 16, a team of four QUT students boarded an international flight to swap Brisbane’s heatwave for the Montreal snow. Brodie Wilson, Bec Colbrook, Elliott Flowers and myself were set to represent QUT at the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition (JMUCC), hosted by Concordia University, Montreal.
I’ve been in Brisbane for over a month and have witnessed and interacted with women across different cultures and ages. I’ve heard them talk about their careers in workshops and seminars, seen some juggling parenthood and studies, read about some successful entrepreneurs and their new ventures.
This semester exchange is far too much to put into one post, so I’d like to take a slightly different approach and share one week instead, a trip up to the north of Sweden and Norway with many new friends from all over the world.
So, I’m located in Oslo, studying at BI University (amazing by the way!), but this trip officially began in Sweden, so near midnight on a cold February Friday, I boarded a bus destined for the beautiful city of Stockholm, where we would depart around midday. This next leg was another bus trip but much longer at 20 hours, driving to the far north. That’s right, two whole nights on a bus: in a 48-hour period we would be spending 28 of those hours crammed like sardines. I remember thinking “this better be worth it!”, and luckily it blew my expectations away.
The feeling of a dream coming to reality is best explained when I got my visa for Australia to study at QUT. I was nervous and excited. New country, new culture, new beginnings, new friends, creating opportunities for myself; but it also meant getting out of my comfort zone, returning to studies after a good nine-year break – and not to forget self doubt!
For some students graduation is a day of celebration that all the sleepless nights, social and financial sacrifices and early lectures are all over, but for me, it was so much bigger than that.
As an international student doing the Master in Business with a major in Strategic Advertising at QUT, I can say that enrolling in the project unit has been one of the most enriching academic experiences I have had in Australia. One of several reasons I chose QUT was its promise to deliver highly relevant knowledge linked to industry level practices that students will face once finished their courses. Read more
