My biggest challenge was deciding whether to stay in Australia or move back to Korea.

Eun Song Chi (지은송 i) or Marina Chi recently is an international student in Sydney and has just finished her last semester of a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design from Australian Catholic University (ACU). She was born in Korea, but during her junior time, she began travelling. It not only opened her mind, but also built up her confidence and boldness.

“I think studying overseas means you have to be a little bit (for want of a better word) in-your-face sometimes.” – Marina Chi

By the time Marina turned 7 years old and her sister turned 14 years old, her parents made a move. They decided that their children should study English overseas. So Marina relocated to New Zealand with her mother and sister. Years after that, Marina and her family members moved back to Korea for 3 years where she finished grade 6, 7 and 8. Then, she came to Australia to finish her HSC and start university here.

Marina had experienced the feeling of being ‘the new one’. She explains that it is when you cannot expect others to look after you or notice you because, chances are, they already have their own friends or groups. It’s the same when finding a job or just going to study in general. “There is a slight pressure not to be categorised as the “helpless Asian girl,” Marina said. Since she did not want to be seen that way, Marina always tries to prove that she can contribute and make a difference.

“So yes, studying overseas can be tough and you will feel isolated at times but that makes you a stronger person both mentally and professionally, in my opinion.”

Study what you love and love what you study!

Marina confided that her parents wanted her to study a course that could bring her a permanent residency because they understood that she did not want to move back to Korea. For that reason, she tried a Bachelor of Early childhood and Primary education. Marina has been striving harder than ever also because she was simply fed up with being the new girl if she had to go back to Korea. She would have to try and fit in, re-learning the ‘Korean way’ and so on.

However, after a year, Marina realised that she could not forget what she had always loved to do: Arts! She said with a passion: “I wanted to study fine arts and I’ve always loved anything to do with art since I was like… 2 years old!”

Marina then decided to transfer her major to Visual Arts and Design WITHOUT announcing it to her parents! As you might imagine, she got into a lot of trouble for that. But, Marina has proved to her parents that she can do it, and do it well. There was also an advantage of doing Arts in Australia since it will have a bigger international prominence than if she were to study in Korea.

Despite her initial indecision about choosing her major, the rest of Marina’s university life was one of the best times of her life. She got chances to meet diverse groups of people – from lecturers to mature-aged students and, of course, local students. According to Marina, ACU’s Strathfield campus is a small group, so even though you are not the best of friends, you still grow quite fond of all your classmates.

University life will not be meaningful without volunteer work!

At the moment, Marina is volunteering for Manga club, Cricket club and Surfing club (plus additional student associations). Earlier, she joined ISLA after successfully passing a phone interview. During the program, Marina was involved in different workshops, doing tasks she would normally not do and attended various events. From this, she was equipped with professional skills, met many inspirational people and expanded her comfort zone, boosting her confidence, as she had to take on a few leadership roles. One of the most awesome events she did with ISLA was walking down George street with the organisation at the Chinese New Year parade. Everyone had worked very hard, making props and decisions, so practicing it was a wonderful moment for all of them.

“I would definitely recommend it to other international students. Simply put, it’s a fantastic way to engage in a range of activities that will broaden your perspective on Sydney and its diverse community,” said Marina.

Challenges in switching “doing” mode to “planning” mode

Time management has been an all-time problem that every student has faced. Marina defined it as shifting between “doing” and “planning” modes. Her story is that she used to be very busy, always jumping into work or meeting up with people without looking at the bigger picture. After a while, she realised that she was busy…but not getting anywhere.

Marina’s solution is to have goals written down and try to refer to them before she makes decisions. She advises that while being spontaneous is also important, you need to get your “planning” cap on and think things through before you sign up for ongoing commitment.

“If you are stuck in an unavoidable situation you know is a waste of time, you might as well just enjoy it and just be in the moment.” – Marina Chi

Experience are one of the most important

Marina has worked as an assistant visual arts teacher and then as a visual arts and English teacher at various after-school centers for children and high school students. She also worked as an assistant to a graphic designer at a large company because she was planning to major in graphic design in her third year. After her internship with the Hunters Hill Council, she started working at Stills Gallery and is loving it.

Marina described this internship as “eye-opening”. For instance, without this internship, she would not know that Hunter’s Hill was a gorgeous garden village full of wonderful gentle people passionate about learning the history of the area. Or Marina would never have her first time ever taking part in organising an art exhibition, and seeing the entire process from promoting the show all the way to the end where information is archived for next year. She found that seeing how artworks were selected and judged, experiencing opening night and taking the works down was an interesting and fun experience.

“Those experiences are actually more useful than just writing on your resume,” she says. As Marina shared her story, “I always have enough experience to talk about and use in my answers. Also, it helped me get a clearer vision of what I wanted to do with my degree as I was going through it.”

What is your plan after graduate from ACU? 

Marina’s ultimate goal is to work as an artist and a curator  so she will study even more afterwards while working! Undoubtedly, she will do Master of Secondary Education to develop her career.

What are your long term and short term goals and objectives?

Answering this question, Marina said her short term goal is simply: “To make art, live art, enjoy being in my twenties and just be healthy and happy”.

“I’d like to travel more and be a little more experimental, take more risks while I still can.”– said Marina.

It is always encouraging that everyone should live their own life. And for Marina, she always wants to be sincere, to love, to stand up for herself and to always try her best. “I actually have these 3 things written on a piece of paper and pinned to a cork-board in my room.”

Usually, making plans is a popular way to do things. Unlike Marina, she does not try to plan everything because she believes that things change and change, so it does not always work out according to plan. Apart from planning, what Marina does is to write down ten goals at the beginning of each year and have them pinned to the board in her room. By this way, she believed that she does not always consciously read them but doing that definitely helps. “It’s amazing to see how many of them you do actually end up achieving at the end of the year!”, said Marina.

If you could give an advice for international students what would it be?

“Be confident and look after yourself! Always choose cheerful music over sad ones – it helps, even with the most tragic events in your life.” – Marina Chi

What would you say to inspire international students to get better in the future?

“Try something different. Try something new. Meet new people and find work particularly where you don’t think you’ll fit in. It might just change you or the course of your life completely.” – Marina Chi