One of the great things about the Gold Coast is that you're never far off from the city and you're never far off from nature. 
My name is Andy, and I grew up in the city of Kuala Lampur in Malaysia and now I live, work and play here on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
One of my favourite places on the coast is Tallebudgera Creek. It's a beautiful place. It's almost meditative in a way. 
I'm able to take the paddle board or the kayak down and just have a day full of activities and get away from the hustle and bustle of work in the city.
I currently work at a company called Dyna Pumps as a pump engineer. 
(over the phone) “What sort of applications are you looking at using it for?”   
A lot of the pumps that we size, they're used for oil and gas industry, construction and mining. Definitely a sense of accomplishment, being able to work within my field and being able to work with people that are like minded to me. I'm able to learn every day from them and develop myself to be a better person.
When I first moved from Malaysia, I was enrolled into Helensvale State High School as an international student in 2012. There was an international room that we were able to go to at any time of the day. Just to unwind or relax, and I remember stealing Tim Tams out of the fridge all the time. So that was good. 
(Teacher to student) “So how's everything going with your studies?”  
Miss Gibson was our International Student Coordinator. She's always looking out for us, always concerned about our wellbeing and apart from that, she puts a lot of effort into planning excursions for us to view the sights of Queensland. And they're all fun memories that I look back on regularly. The Gold Coast is such a wonderful place. 
It is so diverse, multicultural, it's not just the experience of being at school and the education, it's coming to a different culture and to immerse themselves into the Gold Coast way of life. 
I graduated Griffith University with a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering. Ever since I was young, I've always had a curiosity with how thing work. One of the good things about Griffith University is the amount of facilities that students have access to. Looking back, I mean, I missed that availability of all these things that we were able to use, such as laser cutters, 3D printers, C and C machines all readily available at our fingertips.
Griffith Mechanical Engineering degree is built on a very strong foundation of theory and practical experience and innovation.
Griffith University Mechanical Engineering Degree is accredited by engineering Australia. Which means that the degree is recognised globally. 
I definitely do feel a sense of pride coming from where I came from and being able to graduate in a place like Griffith University. 
I think somewhere along the way I sort of knew that Australia is a place that I want to be living in. 
One of the most memorable experience here was actually skydiving. It was 14,000 feet out of the plane and I was able to take in the view of the entire coast. So that was a pretty special experience. Got to go through a cloud, which is surprisingly not very fluffy.
Being able to meet so any different people from all around the world, as well as I find the locals are probably the friendliest people you'd meet. 
You know, that plays a pretty big part in why I love this place.