International Student Program

Lluani Williams – Who am I?

My name is Lluani Williams, and I have been the International Student Coordinator since January 2015.  Amanda Trang (International Student Program Assistant) and I work together to make sure that all the international students at MGC are happy, healthy, successful and safe during their time studying at Melbourne Girls’ College.

It would seem that International Education has been a recurrent theme throughout my whole life; from when, at the age of 9 months, my teacher parents having bundled me up into a suitcase to the Cook Islands where they were building new schools, my first language was Maori, to being an exchange student in the USA after completing year 12.  I worked in schools and with schools in New Caledonia for 6 years and in France for 5 years.  I also studied at l’ Universite de la Nouvelle-Caledonie.  My son was born French and I now have both Australian and French citizenship! Needless to say that we don’t speak much English at home!

I have had a fairly a-typical professional pathway; after a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Linguistics and French, I taught English as an Additional Language for two years in New Caledonia, and then ran my own small English Services business in Noumea for four years.  On returning to Australia I worked in a variety of positions, until I moved to France to do another year teaching EAL and then I became the head of R and D in a French company, developing, translating (French to English) and regionalising ICT software solutions for children with language and learning differences (dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc).  After our return to Australia three years ago, I worked at the International Education Division in the Department of Education and Training, before coming to work at MGC.

 

My role at Melbourne Girls’ College is to oversee the recruitment and enrolment of international students to fill the 65 places reserved annually for girls from all over the world.  Also, from the time the girls arrive at the airport until they graduate, we are responsible for making sure that they are safely and comfortably housed, fed, have their studies supported and their wellbeing assured.  In fact, you could say that my job is to be ‘Mum’ to my 65 international babies!

I love working with these intelligent, talented, hardworking and immensely courageous girls.  At around the age of 15 they leave the familiarity of their home countries and schooling for an adventure that will change their lives in every single conceivable way, all the while studying VCE in a second language.  There are not many people who can say that they would be tough enough to do that!  

I can be contacted via the College number: 9428-8955, or by email: lluani.williams@mgc.vic.edu.au , or you can pop by my office in room 302.  My door is always open!

 

Melbourne Girls’ College International Student Program News

Welcome to the renewed and long overdue MGC ISP News page! 

The last year and a half has been a blur of vertiginous learning curves, herding cats, and general running around like a headless chicken, and that’s only from the perspective of MGC’s new International Student Coordinator!

 

Since the last time an ISP newsletter appeared we have had 20 year 12 international students graduate, with all 20 graduates receiving an offer to a tertiary institution; 9 students offered a place at University of Melbourne, 4 students at Monash University, 3 at RMIT, 2 at Swinburne and 1 at Deakin University.  We are very pleased to report that 2 students were accepted into Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne and 1 into Pharmaceutical Science at Monash University.  MGC international girls ROCK!

We have also had 55 new students arrive in Melbourne to either start their intensive English language study or to transition to study at MGC since the beginning of 2015.  That’s a LOT of trips to the airport!

 

We currently have 65 students at our school, from China, Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Switzerland and Germany.

Last week we welcomed 11 new students who are currently studying at Glen Eira English Language Centre, Blackburn English Language School, Melbourne Language Centre and Hawthorne English Language Centre, in preparation to transition to year 10 and year 11 at Melbourne Girls’ in 2017.  They met with the year level coordinators to help them choose their 2017 subjects, and they also shared some pizza with the current international students.   They will complete 20 weeks of intensive English language study before they come to us next year.

If you are interested in hosting one of our fabulous international students, please contact Lluani Williams via the College number: 9428-8955, or by email: lluani.williams@mgc.vic.edu.au , or you can pop by my office in room 302.  We are always looking for new Melbourne Girls’ College homestay families!