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.”

Hi, my name is Yang Ying and I come from China. I came to Deakin University to study and I am currently undertaking a Master of Landscape Architecture. Australia is an amazing country - from the moment I landed at Melbourne Airport, I was curious about my new home.

I feel lucky that I chose to study at Deakin University’s Waterfront campus because of the incredible views and the friendly people in Geelong. Prior to commencing my architecture studies at Deakin, I studied a ten week English language course at the Deakin University English Language Institute (DUELI).

During my English language studies, it was really exciting that my classmates were from different countries such as Russia, Iran, India, Thailand, Philippines andVenezuela. I made many great friends – we studied together and shared our different life experiences with each other. The teachers were also very helpful - they not only assisted us in our studies but also found ways to help us relax such as arranging visits to the zoo and doing yoga classes together.

My time at DUELI was a turning point in my life because I learned new skills such as searching through documents and writing in English. For a Masters student, critical thinking, writing, and searching documents are all important skills. Furthermore, good communication skills are also important and having friends from different backgrounds has been a great help in learning about new perspectives, new ways of thinking and different cultures.

In my spare time, I like to travel with my friends and to participate in different activities. I have been to Lake Tyrrell, gone fishing, joined in the Zombie Show, took part in Run Geelong, enjoyed some volunteer work and travelled to other cities. By taking part in various activities, I feel like I am an active participant in society making a valuable contribution to the city of Geelong especially when I’m volunteering which involves giving up my time for the reward and satisfaction of helping someone perhaps less fortunate than myself.

I still have one year left before I finish my course and although my studies are sometimes challenging and stressful, I am confident about my future, since my life motto has always been ‘Study Hard and Play Hard’. 

“I chose The Gordon because I wanted to study Diploma of Community Services Work and it is the only place in Geelong that is accredited by ACWA (Australian Community Workers Association). I love being a student at The Gordon! We have very passionate, skilled and experienced teachers who challenge and empower us at the same time – to learn more, to research, and to build up our strengths and skills to become better workers.

I am not working in the field yet, but I am sure I will be well prepared for employment. Being an international student in the class with Australians is definitely a very good experience! I have got the opportunity to improve my English skills, to get insight into Aussie slang and to find out more about the Australian lifestyle, customs and culture. I wouldn’t want it any other way! ”

Marjetka Gojkosek
Diploma of Community Services

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.