Timing is everything, and for Rahil Gadhiya’s international student journey that’s very much the case. Rahil had a dream to study on the Gold Coast, but just as he was thinking about making that dream a reality COVID struck and Australia’s borders closed. He did however manage to get into the USA, so Rahil decided to study there instead. Looking to pursue a career in tourism Rahil enrolled into university in Florida. It wasn’t the experience he was hoping for. there was little opportunity for employment as a student there and what work he did find was minimum wage, while Rahil also had to contend with biased employers who favoured certain ethnicities. Life was challenging to say the least, and with so much violence around him Rahil found that living there was a very dangerous prospect. When Australia’s borders opened Rahil left the US and finally got his chance to study Hotel and Tourism Management at Griffith University. The contrast between his two experiences as an internatio...