LATINOZ TEAM
Paulina Bravo, 34, Mexican
I studied a bachelor in Communication Science at the Universidad Anáhuac México Norte and after graduation in 2007, I was selected to study the Master’s Degree in Marketing, awarded a 100% scholarship in the same institution. During my master, I worked in the recruitment area of the university and for 2 years, I dedicated myself to help pre-university students and guide them through the career selection process.
After finishing my master in 2009, I started working at an international advertising agency, and a few months later, I was hired by one of the largest soft drink companies (yep, the iconic one!) in Mexico to carry out market research. Thanks to this job, I gained a lot of experience empathising & putting myself in the shoes of the consumer. Also, I had the good fortune of traveling to Colombia, Costa Rica and Argentina to understand the cultural differences in Latin America, which has helped me a lot in my career.
Although I already had an advanced level of English because I used it heaps in my work & traveling, after six years and a successful career in marketing, I decided to leave everything and go on the adventure of living in Australia and master the language – something that you are probably also thinking about, if you got up here.
I arrived in Melbourne in January 2016 with a suitcase full of dreams and fears, not knowing what to expect as it was my first time living abroad. At the beginning, I only devoted myself to studying and I did not work – my life savings allowed me to do this. I tried to make friends with my teachers and native people to practice my English as much as I could. I used to tell them what I was doing in back in Mexico, waiting for someone to say: hey, we have a job for you! In the end, my strategy paid off because when I finished my English course, I was offered a position in administration at the school where I studied. During one year I dedicated myself to comprehend the working culture in Australia and to guide hundreds of Latin students who needed a person to rely on in their language. Within a year of working as an administrative assistant, I was promoted to marketing & communication manager, where I had the opportunity to work much more closely with both Latin American and Spanish agents & students, whom I helped to understand the culture, the rules. By doing counselling, I identified gaps in the consultancy services that I wanted to close so students could have a better experience here.
Whilst I was working at the school, I decided to launch my instablog in 2018 @ mexicanaenaustralia aiming at showing the world how it is to live in Australia being Latin. Little by little, I started to connect with people from all over Latin America who began reaching out to get guidance in the process of studying in Australia. Touching so many lives and seeing the importance of honest advice made me realise that what I like to do is to help others make their dreams come true, realistically.
After being certified as a Qualified Education Agent by PIER, here we are, launching this platform to help you achieve your goals so you really enjoy this great life investment!
Contact me here to help you!
Yair Frid, 35, Mexican
I studied a Bachelor degree in Communication Sciences at the Universidad Anáhuac México Norte. Before finishing my degree, I decided that I wanted to do a Master in English and I started my plans to come to Melbourne a few weeks after graduating.
After finishing my degree, I was working in the marketing area for a real estate developer in Mexico City for almost a year. I arrived in Melbourne in June 2008 to take an academic English course at the University of RMIT. Immediately afterwards, I started my Master in Advertising and Commerce in the same institution for 2 years.
The hardest obstacle to coming to Australia was (and still is) finding a job. The vast majority of students start doing cleaning, housework or hospitality. I started vacuuming a bank throughout my second semester. Then I found something better working in the warehouse of a distributor of medical products and almost at the end of my master’s degree, I found a job at a digital company that had just started its operations in Australia. This allowed me to apply for my temporary visa.
After being there for a year and a half I decided to go to work with a friend in his new company where we offered maintenance and remodeling of properties. I was with him for more than a year and when I felt ready, I decided to form my own company in 2014 where, to date, we specialize in removing graffiti, applying anti-graffiti and pressure washing. I reached Australian citizenship in 2018.
I have lived all the facets that an international student goes through when coming to Australia. I know and experienced myself the concerns, expectations and obstacles that have to be overcome in order to live in this incredible nation.
I am at your service for any questions or clarification.
Eunice Bravo, 31, Mexican
I studied Finance and Accounting at the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City, after graduating I worked as a financial analyst for almost two years.
Working helped me to save enough money to pursue my biggest dream, living abroad. So, I studied an MSc in Finance in London and lived there for almost a year and a half. After going back home, I worked for more than 6 years in Finance Planning with a promising career, but I realized that what I really wanted to do, was to live abroad again. That’s when my journey to Australia began. And after making a thorough research, I decided to study a Master in Professional and Practising Accounting at Melbourne Polytechnic, starting in February.
Now I’m really happy for taking the risk to leave everything that is familiar. I know there are still more challenges to come, as all international students face, but I know that each challenge will bring something very positive.
Anel Egure, 32, Mexican
I studied international business at Tec of Monterrey in Mexico. Then, I was working in logistics and supply chain at Walmart for 5 years. Later, I studied a master degree in Marketing at Macquarie University, Sydney.
My hobbies have always been travelling and studying other languages such as English and French. These hobbies encouraged me travelling since I was a teenager, wandering Canada, Europe, Morocco, Brazil, India, Thailand and others. Australia was missing from my bucket list. Therefore, I decided to study my master at Macquarie University, and I was awarded scholarships from Conacyt and Fiderh.
I have been living in Sydney since 2018, where I have experienced all the concerns, obstacles, and expectations that every international student has to overcome.
In the end, every effort has its reward. Now I am happy and thankful for living the Aussie adventure.
Allan Sosa, 30, Mexican
I studied a Bachelor degree in Communication Sciences at UNAM, Mexico, and after graduating I worked for one of the most important national circulation newspapers in Mexico. There, I developed one of my greatest passions, which is writing.
First, I did it at the editorial board, in the correction and editing of journalistic texts and then I had to do it in the streets at the security source. I also worked as a Social Communicator for the Ministry of Health of the State of Mexico and as a spokesperson Ecatepec de Morelos government official, the most populous and demanding municipality in the country. But that was not enough for me, it was always my desire to learn a foreign language, so one day, I decided to leave everything and start a trip that, so far, has not finished!
I started my journey in Europe and so on, I travelled across the Middle East and Asia, until I reached Australia in July 2019. Here in Brisbane, I am fulfilling my dream. I am learning new things, a new language, new people, new ways of seeing life. And prepared for what comes, looking for my highest truth.