BSW Student experiences international exchange on Australia’s Gold Coast

“Ever since I can remember, whenever I would think about college I would think about studying abroad,” BSW student Breanna Kim reflected. “It’s something I always wanted to do.” Breanna started her spring semester of 2014 at Griffith University in South Port, Australia rather than on FSU’s main campus in Tallahassee. Spending her first few days in a youth hostel, she then landed a room in a shared house with two Australian girls and one New Zealander in Arundle, a suburb of South Port.

Breanna faced a new culture that combined both the new and the familiar. She noticed that as a Westernized society, Australia was societally and structurally was very similar to the U.S., but that there were pervasive differences. “Always be open and just go with the flow,” Breanna advised. She particularly noted the subtle, but distinct differences in food, slang, politics, race relations and socializing.

Another new experience for her was her course load for the semester at a different university. Breanna’s exchange involved a full course load of classes at Griffith University including: “Understanding Imprisonment,” “Group Facilitation,” “Human Behavior,” and “First Australians in Social Justice.” “I did like the classes,” Breanna said about her class schedule. “It was set up differently so you had the class and then you also had tutorials and workshops.”

Apart from her studies, Breanna also had a chance to explore some of Australia’s national parks and get in some hiking at places like Mount Warning in New South Wales. She was also able to visit the cities of Melbourne and Australia’s capital Sydney for art museums and sightseeing.

As Breanna finished up her BSW this year, she plans to continue her education by pursuing her MSW with a focus in criminology and criminal justice. And she plans to definitely continue her travels abroad, including going back to Australia one day.

To learn more about the exchange programs to Australia and Sweden through the College of Social Work, contact Dr. Dina Wilke at dwilke@fsu.edu.