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At ACU Blacktown, Rajisa Shrestha is studying, networking — and eating!

Rajisa is passionate about good nutrition, good people and good food. At ACU, she’s building health science skills, gaining experience as a student leader, and sharing tasty snacks with new friends.

You’re studying a Bachelor of Nutrition Science at ACU Blacktown. What inspired you to choose this degree?

I’m from Nepal, from the capital city of Kathmandu. There are some big misconceptions about food in my country — a lot of people don’t know the difference between what’s good and what’s bad for us. I’m a big foodie, so I’m interested in food and nutrition. Through my degree, I want to create space for people in Nepal to eat freely, choose healthy food and live long lives.

Why did you choose to study at ACU?

The course and fee information was clear and easy to understand — being an international student, I was not exposed to a lot of technology back home, so have a website that was clear and well defined, which made it easy for me to apply. Once I arrived, ACU provided valuable information on things like internships and career paths, which are really important to me. They also offer lots of support services. At first, I had a hard time understanding some of the course materials and assessments. The academic skills service at ACU really helped, and the tutors were very supportive too.

You received the ACU Blacktown Campus Merit Scholarship, valued at $4,000. What has that meant for you?

I did really well in my year 11 and 12 subjects, which is why I was offered the scholarship. I found ACU to be very affordable compared to a lot of other universities. I wanted to be very independent in Australia and to pay my own fees. The ACU scholarship, the fees and the opportunities they provide made that possible.

You’ve also benefitted from ACU’s commitment to work-integrated learning, which prepares students for careers after they graduate. What have you been doing?

There are lots of work-integrated learning opportunities available here — currently, I’m doing a research internship with a nutrition lecturer at ACU Strathfield. I assist with testing and data collection for a project that’s very aligned to my degree and my interests. I'm having so much fun meeting different people and talking to professionals who work in my future field. I’d eventually like to work as a researcher, lecturer and dietician, so this is a great way to get started early on!

When you’re not in class, you’re busy with lots of extracurricular activities at ACU. Tell us about some of those and how they’ve shaped your experience.

At ACU, I work as a Connect2Uni mentor and a PASS leader — in these two roles, I answer questions about uni life and tutor first-year students who are undertaking challenging subjects. It makes me a good leader because I’m always helping people, asking them if they have any questions or problems, and working towards solving their issues. I’m also the President of ACU Blacktown’s Student Association. In this role, I do things like event planning — we run events throughout the year. I love going to the Student Association and to student life events. They give out free food, which means I get to connect with a lot of people and do some networking — while eating! 

Explore the opportunities on offer at ACU and build your career while you study. Talk to our international student support team