Aarohi (Class of 2023) reflects on her global learning journey...

When my family moved from India to Australia, I could count the number of English words I knew on my five-year-old hands. Today, as a Creative Writing and English Literature student learning in England, I can recognise that it was this background that facilitated my motivation to excel academically and personally. 

And though this context naturally came with challenges, it’s something I feel very lucky to have grown up with – hearing my parents’ stories of navigating cultural shock and reinvention, community and changed perspective – I absorbed an awareness of the world around me that I took for granted until quite recently. Coupled with the influx of global news which I know many young people are subject to in the current social climate; I didn’t know what I wanted to pursue in the future, but I knew I wanted to travel and explore the wider world. I ended up doing a semester at the University of Melbourne before deciding to take a chance on my writing after being encouraged by a mentor to do so – a decision without which I am sure I still would have ended up overseas, though likely with much less direction. 

The reason I chose to move to the U.K. to pursue my studies is due to the difference in our tertiary education systems: courses in Europe tend to be more specialised in their focus, which means that I am able to study my specific course instead of a Bachelor of Arts degree with major and minor subjects, which is the closest equivalent in Australia. Of course, there is merit to both pathways – my friends who don’t yet know their areas of interest are clearly benefiting from the ability to try different subjects and change around their degrees here – but since I identified what I wanted to explore deeply and wholly, I made the decision to opt for the education style that better promotes this, in my opinion. 

Beyond just the academics, though, the reason I have always been sure of wanting to live overseas is in the personal development it necessitates. Being witness to and also experiencing the development of skills like citizenship and critical thinking which international-mindedness acts in symbiosis with, I’m convinced that exploring global pathways is the future of student success in our ever-changing world. This success speaks not only to increased career opportunities in competitive job markets, but also to more social and balanced lifestyles, among many other outcomes – which I believe are essential to strive for as we pioneer the future of work alongside advancing technology and changing industry structures. Quite simply, travelling has taught me more about myself and the world than I would be able to otherwise, and these are the lessons that extend far beyond the classroom or lecture theatre. 

SCAS instilled an understanding of the significance of such skills in me through the Deeper Learning framework, and I’m excited for the opportunities that will become available to future cohorts with the furthering of the 6 Cs into a real-world qualification such as the International Baccalaureate. The need for international learners is greater today than ever before, and I’m sure that the depth and balance of inquiry which the IB facilitates will be a pathway for many students to become the international learners they have the potential to thrive as. 

Thanks Aarohi! 

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