Brandan
Marketing Major

Today marks the final day of our incredible journey and what a beautiful day it was to wrap up the trip. It is a bittersweet departure from the island continent as we look forward to returning home and seeing loved ones, but hate to think how long it may be before we return to this wonderful place. For many of us, the day was spent picking up last minute souvenirs of Australian rules footballs, boomerangs and postcards as well as soaking up every last ounce of sun by the pool.

For me and for many others, this trip has only whetted our appetites to learn more about Australia and the amazing people that live here. Everyone we have met and stayed with has been overwhelmingly friendly and hospitable and has genuinely cared about us while we were here. We were treated as family while staying with families in Adelaide and treated as old friends everywhere else. The Australian people have left a definite and lasting impression on me in the way that they reach out to others. They joyously share everything they have and genuinely greet each day with anticipation and optimism. The greatest example of this which I think we saw was the way in which the Australian people as a whole reached out to the victims of the Tsunami. The entire month in every city in which we traveled there was a huge outpouring of support all the way from the national level down to the local shop owner. Each person did what they could to lend support whether it was singing at a benefit concert in Sydney, playing a cricket match in Adelaide or simply dancing on the street in order to help out in the best way that they could.

We have all learned quite a bit about Australia and Australian business. Australians seem to have a unique outlook on business, and I hope that it is one that sticks with me for the rest of my life. They realize that business is important to the extent that it provides them with a powerful resource to enrich lives and create opportunities for others, not simply to acquire individual wealth and security. This outlook wasn’t something that was simply talked about as an ideal; we saw it carried out within each individual business that we visited. From the big banks and large mission organizations to the small retail companies and wineries, all of them had a sense that business meant something beyond simply making a profit, it can mean changing lives. I know for one that my experience with them has already changed me.

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