ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½

Hope Frieson enjoying the surf in Australia

For Hope Friesen, a marketing major who grew up in Edmonton, studying abroad had always been but a distant dream. While she couldn’t go to university outside of Canada, she found an alternative one that allowed her to see the world without giving up the familiar structure of academics. 

It all started when Hope went on a family trip to Australia when she was twelve, and she fell in love with the ocean. Years later, after she started university in Edmonton, the sound of waves crashing against the shore lingered at the back of her mind, the rhythmic pull of the tide an inextricable reminder of where she longed to be. 

“I looked up Australia first because of the lifestyle, the beach, and how much I love the ocean.”

After much deliberation, Hope and her best friend settled on the in Perth as their exchange destination. 

Hope excitedly recalls the daily events that UWA hosted for students and the abundance of activities and in which she could get involved. There was no shortage of opportunities for her to make friends and settle into university life. 

“One of my favourite memories was this club at the university called Cold Dips. There’s like a hundred people that get up every couple mornings before class, and you swim and get coffee all together.”

Hope describes how, despite the brisk temperatures, the simple ritual forged between them a powerful sense of community unlike anything she had experienced before. It wasn’t just about swimming — although Hope stresses thoroughly her love for the ocean — it was about a second home. Feeling the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins, surrounded by people in a land so far away from home, she should have felt out of place. And yet, her willingness to belong was exactly what found her a home away from home. 

“When you’re on exchange, it's easy to think that you’ll be around those people for a few months and you’ll never see them again. That was absolutely not the case with me; I still talk to them every single day.”

Much like her first trip to Australia, the memories Hope made stayed with her long after her trip and inspired future plans in Perth and beyond! Currently, Hope and her best friend are on a second exchange at the , and while on break there, she plans on visiting Perth.

“I loved the community and the real friendships I made.”

After she graduates, Hope wants to pursue a career in medicine in Australia, a decision that was cemented by her time in Perth. Although she can’t pinpoint a single moment where she came to that conclusion, Hope speaks in awe of her time volunteering for a program called Teach Learn Grow, where she found herself looking at another side of Australia. 

“It was all great and fun to be around a big university, and the privilege that comes with that. But I got to see how the country really operates and how people live.” 

Hope tutored children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in rural Australia in an effort to supplement the academic support they receive from formal schooling. She sees it as one of the best things she could have done on exchange, giving her a sense of direction that many people wouldn’t have at age twenty. 

It would be an understatement to say Hope’s experiences abroad resonated with her. She found not only a second home, but a second family. She discovered not just community, but a clear path to her future in an otherwise clouded world.