There are many international students, but not all of them achieve good results while living in a foreign country without their family and friends.

In this story, Alexandra Merenkova, a 21 year old UNSW second year Architecture student from Russia, shares her experience about being an international student. Being away from home and becoming a UNSW student has been quite an experience for her.

“I always wanted to study abroad.  When I finished year 10 in Russia, my parents thought that I should try to go abroad to finish my high school. At that time education in foreign countries was starting to become valued in Russia,” she said.

Choosing the right country was not easy. “I don’t speak any Asian languages but to go to Europe or America wasn’t an option. They are both very far from home,” she said. After discussing all the advantages and disadvantages Alexandra and her parents decided that she would go to Singapore.

From the age of 12, after finishing Arts School and with a passion for drawing, she knew that architecture would be her major. Singapore inspired Alexandra with its architectural constructions. However, after 1 year she decided Singapore was not the right choice. “To live in Singapore was difficult. I was depressed and didn’t have many friends. I had trouble fitting in at my school. Whatever I did, wasn’t enough.”

Alexandra had to make another difficult decision. “Going back to Russia was not even an option. I had spent a year abroad so I did not want to give up,” she said. She started to attend university conferences in Singapore where she gained all her knowledge about universities in Australia. The UNSW Global Office in Singapore helped her to make the decision and assisted with preparing the documents.

“Australia was a country that I had been considering as my next step. I checked the top universities in Australia and UNSW was the best option for me. I also chose Sydney because my best friend was already there and my parents had some friends in Sydney too,” Alexandra said. Her first step at UNSW was the foundation course, which she graduated with a high mark of 9.1 in her specialization. She was ready to begin her degree at UNSW.

“In Sydney my life completely changed. I felt that I belonged here. I met so many good friends. However, it wasn’t all easy. I had to stay focused on what I wanted to achieve, try some things that I had never done before and be more open to opportunities, all while being an international student,” she said.

Alexandra became the representative of her architecture class. “It was a humorous situation how I became a representative of my class. I casually asked my tutor when we were going to choose one because I thought that he had forgotten about it. The answer was ‘Do you want to be one?’ and I said yes. Nobody in my class minded. I was proud of myself and happy.” Alexandra then entered a competition between other class representatives to see who would represent first year students at SONA (Student Organized Network For Architecture). “I didn’t win the competition but it was a good experience for me as an international student,” she says. She is also currently a member of the ACS (Architecture Computing Society) and the ARC society.

With all her experience Alexandra wants to prove that international students should not be afraid to express themselves. “I know and I feel sometimes that when people know that you are from a different country, that you are an international student with an accent and a sometimes-different way of expressing yourself, they treat you differently.”

Alexandra believes that international students should be more active in university life, express themselves and not be shy of cultural differences or language barriers. “Combining study and social life does not mean that there is no time to try something new. Some of my friends could not keep up with university and did not really participate at all. To study in a different language in a different country is always hard. But I want to prove to everyone and especially to myself that everything is possible and I can do it.”

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