Live and let live (Issue 18, 2012)
Jana Hoeft summarises her future prospects of employment on the basis of her decision to come to Australia to study.
‘In the words of a friend of mine, “Jana, you should be proud of yourself, because after all, going to another country on your own, studying and then doing this well…that is quite a gutsy thing to do!”,’ says Jana.
Jana hails from Germany where she is enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree in foreign trade and international management, she was at La Trobe to study one semester in the Study Abroad program.
‘After applying for the exchange program, I got lots of offers from various universities. However the main reason for saying yes to La Trobe was the opportunity to get an insight into Islamic finance, plus, the mandatory courses I needed for my degree back home were also offered here.’
Jana says she is most passionate about the area of Islamic finance, because of its conceptual approach to financing economic activity.
‘The subjects at La Trobe give me a more Asian Pacific focus, which is a region that I want to focus on in my career,’ she says. ‘This stay has provided the orientation for my future career that I have been trying to find throughout all of my study time in Germany.’
When she is not studying, Jana makes the most of her Australian experience. Epic bushwalks in the great outdoors are the focus of her spare time, as well as spending time with friends that she has made on-campus.
Jana believes that settling into the Melbourne campus community was relatively easy.
‘The main principle here is “live and let live”, which is really refreshing. Definitely an environment that is easy to settle into.’
Jana says dedicated lecturers and an “awesome” Homestay host family provided the support she needed towards the end of her semester of study when a number of things became quite challenging, including her exams. However, she says the last day of her exams was actually the highlight of her studies.
‘And the feeling, that I had not just made it through all the turmoil of the semester, but also finished the mandatory subjects for my degree in Germany here at La Trobe.’
‘Now it's just Bachelor’s thesis, internship and then finally, real business life!’
