Student Story: Zhenyi Liang

Hi, my name is Zhenyi. This is my international student story.

I am currently doing my Master of Information Technology at UWA. My plan is to become a software developer when I graduate. But back in 2017 when I first came to Perth, I didn’t really know what I wanted to achieve in life.

My first visit to Perth was 5 years ago when I graduated from university in my home country. I decided to take a year gap before pursuing a higher degree. So I came to Perth with Working Holiday Visa. I didn’t even know where Perth was at that time but just made my decision based on the cheap air ticket. This is the beginning of my story with Perth.

Perth has been dubbed the loneliest city in the world due to its location. But to me, Perth is like a secret world hidden by the Australians. The pace of life in Perth is slow, and it seems that living here, nothing is more important than the joy of the moment. Friendly people, pleasant climate, beautiful beaches, and deep blue Indian Ocean. These bits and pieces of life constitute the beauty of Perth. After I left Perth without a clear life plan and spent some time exploring the world, I finally found that Perth is irreplaceable in my heart because so many wonderful things happened to me during my time staying in Perth. Then I decided to come back and study and work hard to build my life in Perth.

While backpacking in Australia, I fully explored the diversity of life. I have tried many different jobs such as florist, tour guide, zookeeper, etc. As an international student studying in Perth now, I find that there are even more opportunities here than before. During school holidays, I found relevant professional internships in the mine site and government department, which paved the way for my future employment. Australia is a very inclusive country and hard work always pays off. No matter what you want to achieve in life, you can always find a way here. UWA has good student support services, they provide students with a variety of activities as well as study support. Also, as international students, we always have support from Study Perth. 

By Zhenyi Liang