From the Lecture Hall to the Village: How My Degree Led Me Somewhere I Never Expected
A message to students searching for community and purpose in their degree from Isla Gainfort (NCP Scholar)
“My heart and perspective completely changed for the better—I got a better sense of who I wanted to be as a professional and as a human being.”
As a fresh 18-year-old, taking the first trimester of a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, I often wondered what my degree would lead me to DO.
I took a course called ‘Developing Professionally’ that trimester - a course about discovering my values and core beliefs. At the time I found it frustrating and uninspiring. But much like my grade 6 “time capsule”, I look back on those assignments now and am grateful to have written them. Once again, like my grade 6 self, I thought I knew everything. I thought I knew what I need to do to become successful. In self-tests, I was scoring high on themes of leadership and ambition, while clearly neglecting the opportunity to learn from others.
“To engage in meaningful work, one must collaborate with others, collectively growing and developing in their field of work”, I wrote. You see, I knew this in theory… but at the very same time, the self-tests told me that I needed to work on self-development, lose my solitary attitude towards work and “get braver”. I needed to expose myself to tough challenges, and I needed to grow. But how?
In 2023, everyone was saving up for “Europe Summer” and I wanted in. I had a fabulous idea - I would do a Summer Exchange. I researched, I made a planner, I envisioned my life abroad… and then one day I stumbled across a Facebook post that made my plans do a 180.
“Think… a volunteer expedition to Fiji”. Think Pacific - a social enterprise providing partnership-driven, locally-led global experiences. Something in my heart pulled. A few weeks later, my application to join a Youth Empowerment Project was approved.
By January 2024, I found myself living at the heart of a Fijian village - Daku, the home of the iri buli. For 14 days we worked alongside Daku’s youth group, forming friendships and exploring local and global issues together. I experienced firsthand authentic cultural exchange - the sharing of talanoa, ideas, food. Through complete cultural immersion and positive community contribution, I was challenged to look beyond myself and engage in meaningful work. The type of work that First Year me could never have foreseen.
Returning home, I fell victim to reverse culture shock - longing for that sense of community that I just could not replicate. Until someone reminded me that I could take what I had learnt in Fiji and do something great with it. So, I became a Think Pacific Ambassador and a Griffith Global Mobility Ambassador, I undertook a remote internship with Think Pacific, and I interned with the International Programs Unit of the Federal Court of Australia. And my love for locally-led community development grew and grew - as I grew and grew.
This - the work I was doing in the international development space, meeting people from all over the world and collaborating on big social issues - this felt right.
So why not keep the momentum going? I am honoured to have received the Australian Government’s prestigious New Colombo Plan Scholarship. Commencing in 2026, I will spend a semester learning the Fijian language, undertaking internships at local organisations, and studying at The University of the South Pacific.
Early on, I focussed on what my degree would lead me to DO - not WHERE it would lead me. I've found that the people you meet, the challenges you embrace, and the risks you take outside of the classroom will shape you far more than you might expect. Your degree is a journey, not a destination.
I was invited by BillyBlackett of the GlobalScholarsClub to share my experience with Think Pacific and the New Colombo Plan. These opportunities are for every student. There are teams of people at universities and working for these organisations who are dedicated to ensuring that students like you can access these opportunities - you may just have to seek them out.
Thank you to Isla Gainfort for sharing such a beautifully written piece. Isla’s reflection on redefining success, from what a degree helps you do to where it takes you and who you become, is a powerful reminder for us all.