This year, we are celebrating 10-years of the Monash Warwick Alliance. As part of our Voices of the Alliance series, History graduate, Alex Blades, shares his experience and highlights of the Alliance.

Coming from a rural comprehensive school and having only ever lived with my father, I chose Warwick for the opportunity to study abroad at Monash as part of my History degree. Since graduating, I’ve started my career as a civil servant and I’m also setting up a brewery in my spare time.

I decided to spend a year abroad at Monash for three reasons:

1. To travel around Australasia
2. To meet like-minded peers who I would have struggled to meet on a regular gap year.
3. To explore topics I would never have had the chance to study otherwise. I was particularly interested in internationally-focused modules at Monash.

I can’t emphasise enough how much I benefitted from my time in Australia. The opportunity to meet new people for such an extended period of time was a catalyst in my personal development. I made many long-lasting friendships, in factit’s the friends I made in Australia who I’ve seen most often since moving to London.

The opportunity to travel and visit parts of the world I’ve always wanted to see brought me immense satisfaction. I accomplished lifelong goals in travelling to Japan and Hawaii (my flight from Hawaii to Melbourne only cost £100!). The greatest highlight was travelling around the Northern Territory in a 4x4 with four other friends I made at Monash. I’ve never experienced such diverse beauty, to gaze upon stars in the wilderness was an unforgettable experience.

For any students out there who are thinking about getting involve with the Alliance, I’d say do it! In addition to the personal benefits, my study abroad experience helped kickstart my career journey. Thanks to my work with international students, I secured a job with the UK government advising on international student policy. My experience studying modules in International Relations increased my appetite to study the field further and I’m planning to apply for a part-time postgraduate programme.

My time in Monash accelerated my development and boosted my confidence. The Alliance and the scholarship I was awarded shaped who I am today.