Hi everyone! My name is Luka Vandebroek and I am running for the position of International Officer. I’m an international student from Belgium studying the Master of Anthropology at ANU. I also hold a Bachelor of Sociology and a Master of Film Studies and Visual Culture.
As an international student at ANU, a former exchange student in Australia and South-Korea, and a former international student buddy in Belgium, I have valuable insight in how we can improve the international student experience at ANU. From having been part of different international communities and from my travels in Europe and Asia, I gained intercultural communication experience. I am also generally a very approachable person and as a class representative in CASS, I am already dedicated to make sure feedback from students gets heard.
From conversations with fellow international students I found that making the first connections with other students can be challenging, especially with domestic students. Therefore, my goal during my term is to foster connection within the international student community and between domestic and international students. I will organize cultural exchange events and I will lay the foundation for a new international student buddy system at ANU. Domestic students will get in touch with other cultures and gain volunteering experience while they introduce international students to Australian culture and help them get comfortable at ANU.
I would greatly appreciate your vote and I look forward to contributing to PARSA and representing our international student community!