My Decision To Study In Bunbury

Written by StudyPerth International Student Ambassador Chiedza Jasi

After leaving my city of Kwekwe in Zimbabwe, I decided to study a Bachelor of Social Work at Edith Cowan University’s Bunbury Campus. Bunbury is a coastal regional city about two hours’ drive south of Perth.

Upon completion of high school, I came up with three options of places in which to study at a tertiary level: Australia, Canada and South Africa. Western Australia became my preference because of its safe and secure environment. When compared to other Australian states with big cities, Western Australia also offered an affordable lifestyle, perfect weather and a lot of tourist attractions.

While I started off studying at an institution based in Perth, I found that I wanted to enjoy a slower paced lifestyle. At that time, I was also living in Bunbury so the commute to and from the city also became a bit much after a while.

In the end, I chose to leave the Perth-based institution and commence studies at ECU in Bunbury – and I haven’t looked back!

The ECU Bunbury campus is small and you can easily access all the support services that are provided for students, so l find it easy to get in touch with the lecturers for help with assignments. It is also very easy to connect and make friends at ECU Bunbury.

My home in Zimbabwe is a beautiful slow-paced town; Bunbury is similar in many ways, and it quickly became my ‘home away from home’. The city of Bunbury itself is small, affordable, less congested, friendly and very multicultural. Bunbury also has plenty of employment opportunities and it has easy access to most public and private services.

Bunbury is surrounded by lots of beaches which are easily accessible, including Back Beach, Koombana Bay, and Dalyellup Beach. It is also surrounded by many other tourist destinations including Busselton, Margaret River, Albany, and Denmark. There are a variety of restaurants in Bunbury which cater for different nationalities too. My favourite outlets include Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Italian, African, and European restaurants.

In my spare time, l enjoy playing basketball and I am also passionate about giving back to the community through voluntary work through my church or the university. Furthermore, l have so much love for my Zimbabwean community and l spend some of my time making contributions towards different campaigns.

To students looking to study in Western Australia, l would encourage you to choose Bunbury as your study destination as the environment is very supportive and welcoming. The ECU Bunbury community is here to support you as you settle into Australia. Also, make the most of incentives offered by the university which include scholarships, subsidised accommodation, and discounted public transport, just to mention a few.