Earlier this year James Cook University (JCU) student Nancy Mekri, who is an international student from Papua New Guinea, attended the National Council of Independent Students Australia (CISA) conference in Darwin. The conference brings together leaders from government and business along with students to share inspiration, opinions and common goals.
The theme of this years’ conference was Breaking down Barriers and Facing the Future Together as One. In her final year of a Bachelor of Business majoring in Human Resource Management, Nancy was thrilled to represent both Cairns and her home country at the Darwin conference which attracted over 200 international students.
“Most of the students were international student ambassadors representing their universities. I was representing my university James Cook University, Study Cairns and of course my beautiful country PNG,” Nancy said.
“It was an amazing experience as well as an emotional one for me. I say emotional as I was the only student from the South Pacific, PNG, Oceania region. During the conference the Vice President asked for a show of hands from those representing each country to loud applause as many students raised their hands. When Oceania was announced, I was the only student to raise my hand as the region’s sole representative.”
It was a proud moment for Nancy for whom studying has always been a struggle. She failed her year 12 exams at her PNG school, trying for five years to gain a university entrance place before moving to Cairns to attend TAFE. From there she worked her way into JCU, finding her place amongst her peers with a ‘strong desire to succeed in education in a world-class education provider in Australia.’
Inspired by the speakers and workshops at CISA, Nancy’s education journey is well and truly underway. She is well-equipped to face her fears and to embrace her future as an outstanding professional woman with much to offer.
We wish Nancy the very best for her future and are delighted that she chose to study in Cairns, taking advantage of world-class education opportunities in north Queensland.