Don't ever miss an opportunity
Ethan is an 18-year-old from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea who attended the Port Moresby International School from Year 7 to 10.
The opportunity to move to Australia to enrol in Queensland’s Keebra Park State High School was a dream come true. From Year 10 to 12, Ethan called Brisbane home and now a university place looks certain.
- Becoming more independent provided a whole new outlook on life for Ethan, but it’s the small things that made his new community so much more like home.
- Meeting new people and making new friends, especially in his football circle, has contributed to feeling so positive about the future.
- With a love of football, Ethan has appreciated the varied opportunities to play football with structured competitions and tournaments.
- Having had family who lived in Australia and attended school made the journey much easier, as he had discussed many aspects of living in Australia before arriving.
- Australia was always the number one option, being so much closer to Papua New Guinea than other alternatives.
- The opportunity to learn to surf that was on top of Ethan’s list of activities to try, in addition to Australia being multi-cultural with so many cuisines and so much food to taste and explore.
Keebra Park State High School provided Ethan with a very supportive culture, highlighted by the strong bonds between all students regardless of their year level. Everyone knows each other and making friends was easy and no one was ever left out.
Ethan recommends Keebra because the people and the school made him feel like he wasn't away from home at all – he found a family and people that will be in his life forever.
He says, take any opportunity that comes your way even if it is out of your comfort zone – have no regrets.
Ethan has a few options for university, but is still deciding between bachelor degrees in aviation, engineering, business and urban development.
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