After finishing her Bachelor degree in Canada, Maymuna Aden decided she wanted to pursue speech pathology somewhere far from her home town.

After meeting a La Trobe University staff member at postgraduate study fair, she decided Melbourne was the place for her.

‘My adjusting period was not as bad as I perceived it to be. Luckily I have family in Melbourne, but also the friendly Speech Pathology staff members at La Trobe University and my lovely peers made a huge positive impact on my adjusting period,’ says Maymuna.

Maymuna believes the highlight of her time here so far has definitely been the people she’s met.

‘I’ve travelled quite a bit throughout my lifetime and I must say I’ve never been embraced with such welcoming arms the way I have been here at La Trobe in Australia.’

Maymuna loves Australia’s beautiful environment and enjoys the differences between here and Canada.

‘The environment is absolutely beautiful, I love how most restaurants have an outside patio. This is something I’m not use to at all having come from Canada, we tend to eat indoors especially during the winter.’

Maymuna says she feels happy in Melbourne, and she gets a good feeling from the people around her.

‘The people are always willing to help if you ever get lost, everyone seems generally happy, and seeing smiling faces – although I don’t know what it is they’re smiling about – for some reason makes me happy as well. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a good feeling.’

The teaching style in Australia differs quite a lot from that in Canada, but this is what Maymuna likes most about her Speech Pathology course at La Trobe University.

‘My course is a two year problem based learning (PBL) program, which is what I like most about it. I enjoy interactive, discussion-oriented activities within the classroom and PBL embodies this effortlessly.

‘Alternative to the independent studying that I’ve been accustomed to throughout my undergrad degree, PBL is based on working in groups to better understand and solve the problem at hand, thus stimulating higher thinking,’ says Maymuna.

Maymuna feels like she has grown during her limited time at La Trobe, she attributes this to the people she had met here.

‘I’ve definitely become more independent, goal oriented and driven, and I’ve only been here for three months. There’s an indescribable sense of calmness that has come over me since I’ve arrived in Melbourne, and I’ve attributed it to not only the weather and beautiful scenery, but also the warmth that the people in Australia possess.’

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Have you ever thought of Australian Speech Pathology programs in Australia?

KOM Consultants is the Canadian Application Centre for partner university Speech Pathology programs including:

• Macquarie University
• University of Sydney
• Curtin University
• Griffith University
• La Trobe University
• Flinders University

For more information on Australian Speech Pathology Programs in Australia, contact KOM Consultants.