Genevieve Durst – At the Intersection of East and West
Although born and raised in Wisconsin, USA, Genevieve Durst has travelled half way around the world to undertake her first Bachelor’s Degree. Currently a Commerce student at Curtin University’s Sarawak Campus, it is evident that she is breaking out of the American stereotype.
“I had a very structured and planned education up until now. I even had planned to go into engineering as a child, but now I’m doing something completely different. This was the first step into realising what I wanted”.
“I wanted to do something off the beaten track. All of my friends were going to the same university, doing the same thing. All in Wisconsin, where there are long cold winters; and it just seemed too planned. I wanted to do something unexpected, something fun. So I decided to try Curtin Sarawak”.
Despite the unique cultural differences between the USA and Malaysia, adjusting to a Malaysian lifestyle was not too difficult for Genevieve. She attributes this to the fact that she spent her summers in East Malaysia as her mother is originally from Kota Kinabalu. However, she admits that initially, there were some clear distinctions between the two diverse worlds in which she was treading.
“How people think here, their opinions, what they think of the world, even the US, is very different from what I get back home”.
Nonetheless, Genevieve understands this as a positive difference. She explains that the cultural diversity of Malaysia, and the various perspectives that accompany this, is also a strong feature of Curtin, Sarawak Campus.
“Studying here and being amongst people from many different cultures and countries, you learn how to work with them”.
“It’s really fun because it’s a smaller campus, you tend to mix with more people, and you get to know a lot more people. On weekends you can just hang out with the Chinese kids, or the Africans. It’s really cool, there’s a lot of variety and you can really get to know people”.
Despite Genevieve’s Malaysian experience, she continues to view her tertiary education as “very Australian” – highlighting Curtin, Sarawak’s role as an incubator for global citizens.
“I’m getting the best of both worlds. I’m getting an Australian education but I’m in Malaysian Borneo. It’s beautiful, multicultural – I don’t see much of a downside to it”.
Undeniably, a transnational education has transformed Genevieve into a truly global citizen. As she looks ahead into the future, it is clear that her life and career path have been altered forever due to her international and cross-cultural experience.
“I probably wouldn’t go back to northern USA, but I would definitely love to pursue something in South East Asia. I like the people, and the weather especially – it’s great”.