- My name is Echo. I was born in Xichang City
in Sichuan Province, China.
After high school graduation,
I started my uni life in the Sichuan Normal University
and their bachelor's degree of Arts English.
I was interviewed as Queensland's Shanghai Week Ambassador
and later I was selected as the Brisbane International Student Ambassador,
appointed by the Lord Mayor.
I tried snorkelling in Cairns,
I fed the dolphins at the Moreton Island,
I climbed the Story Bridge in Brisbane,
and I also tried a lot of food I've never had in China before.
My favourite one is creamy meringue pavlova cake
with the berries on top, so it was amazing.
Queensland was my first choice because firstly it's closer to home, China,
and the time difference between China and Queensland
is only two hours difference.
The first time when I got to see the sea,
the ocean at the Gold Coast, it was, "Wow!"
And secondly, I think it was because of the weather
and the Queensland weather is nice and warm
and most of the year it's sunny,
so it's like somewhere else, like home!
And thirdly, I think the life and study in Queensland is more affordable
compared with Victoria and New South Wales.
I did the research online.
So universities in Queensland not just offer us the lectures and tutorials,
but also the work experience,
like internships for you to get to see what the real work is like.
I think life has changed a lot for me since I came to Queensland.
But now look at me. I have my amazing friends here.
I have my career here and everything that I ever wanted.
I teach from Year 7 to Year 12 Chinese.
We have five languages at our school.
It's Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Spanish.
I think it's very fulfilling to help the kids,
to see them grow and learn.
And, yeah, I think that's a very fulfilling job for me.
Students get a lot of options.
They do have core courses, like English and maths and science,
but they also get a lot of options for their electives,
like the languages we offer at Corinda State High School,
five foreign languages. They also have agriculture,
they have design classes, IT class,
they have dance, instrumental.
So we have four exams under ATAR.
We have three internal exams, IE1 and 2 and 3,
and also the external exam.
So the students here in Australia, they have less stress.
They have more options, more pathways into university and into TAFE
and what they're going to want to do.
I think it's fairer
for the International students to come and study in Australia
because you get extra support.
For example, for your assignments, you will get help from the support teachers,
from EAL/D, and you also get the English class,
I think sometimes it's after school, sometimes it's before school,
to help you with your assignment, your assessment,
to help you explain what you need to do to break it down.
As a former international student from China,
I invite you to come to live and study in Queensland
because of their world-class education providers,
because of the natural beauty,
and because of the endless opportunities that you can get out of this state.