Hi!
My name is Jordan Gifford-Moore. I am a fourth year student at Flinders University, studying Law and Arts. I am writing this from my apartment in Beijing, China to talk about some of the incredible experiences that you can have during your degree at Flinders. While your High School experience may feel limited to the boundaries of your school, at University the possibilities are endless!
When I started university in 2011, straight out of High School, I was worried that the workload would mean I was going straight from school into more work, then out into my career. But so far I have found that University really has been the best years of my life!
Studying at uni is very flexible, so there is plenty of time to follow your interests – In 2011, my Law degree allowed me to travel to Sydney for national competitions, then in 2012 it was Melbourne and in 2013, Perth. In 2014, my Arts degree allowed me to travel to Washington D.C. in the United States as an intern in the House of Representatives. I then travelled across the United States and Europe, before heading to China to live here for a year. So far, all of this has been possible while working, playing sports, volunteering, learning a language, and studying as a full time student! It really is not true that you have to sacrifice your interests and hobbies when you start life as a university student.
While this has offered plenty of opportunities to travel, (often due to the generous scholarships available as a student of Flinders University) the benefit to your career from these kinds of activities is immense. The Law competitions in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne allowed the delegates from Flinders to compete against, watch, and make friends with some of the most talented students and professionals around the country. In the United States, I was able to speak with multiple Congressmen and interview a top adviser to George Bush. And in China, Flinders University’s exchange agreement has allowed me to attend the Master of Laws program at “the Harvard of China”, Peking University.
The reason I mention these experiences is to show that University is about so much more than textbooks and the classroom experience. It is also about building on your interests, seeing the world, gaining experience, creating professional connections and finding out how you want to spend the rest of your life. As you are coming to the end of High School, it is the perfect time to start looking at these types of amazing experiences that you could have. Every year more of these types of opportunities become available, so I hope you are excited for what your future will hold!