Indigenous student to spend year in Japan
Lee Clarke, 28, of Minyama, will next month become the first Indigenous student to travel abroad under the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Global Opportunities (GO) program.
The third-year Environmental Management and Japanese language student will spend two semesters at Nagoya University in Japan, and his assessment there will count towards his double degree at USC.
Lee qualified for a generous scholarship from Nagoya University after achieving a very high grade point average (GPA) during his first two years of study at USC.
He said he was looking forward to immersing himself in the Japanese culture.
“I have had a lifelong interest in Japan,” he said. “I find their culture very interesting – their language, their food and their etiquette. I will also be going surfing and snowboarding any chance I get.
“This means a lot to me. I feel very privileged and I’m pretty excited about it.”
Lee is a skilled linguist, having learnt several languages while working as a surf charter boat skipper and crewman throughout south-east Asia in the 10 years before he started studying at USC.
“I can speak Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai, so I thought I’d get another language under my belt,” he said. “Japanese is difficult to learn, but it’s definitely achievable. I just have to put in the hours.”
Lee said he also planned to make his trip to Japan a real cultural exchange.
“For anyone who’s interested, I’ll be telling many stories about Australia. I hope to make the Japanese students aware of the indigenous culture in Australia.”
USC’s GO program is designed to allow students to spend up to two semesters studying overseas while earning credits toward their degree.
The University has partnerships with more than 70 universities and institutions around the world, including countries like Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, USA, Chile, Peru, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Norway.
— Terry Walsh