Tran Ngoc Trang

Name:Tran Ngoc Trang
Country: Vietnam
Course: Pharmacy

Monash University pharmacy student Tran Ngoc Trang has a simple outlook on life: "Whatever opportunity comes, I will catch it", she says.

In pursuit of opportunity Trang moved from her hometown of Da Nang City, Vietnam to Melbourne, Australia and one of the world's leading universities.

After excelling in her final years of high school in Australia, Trang gained entry to Monash University's prestigious Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science.

Trang was initially drawn to a career in economics, but after studying science subjects at high school she decided to switch to pharmacy.

After her first meeting with her Monash lecturers she knew she had made the right decision.

"When I heard the lecturers talk about the future and the kind of jobs you can get when you graduate with a Monash pharmacy degree I knew I had chosen the right course, and that I would have a lot of choices in the job market," Trang said.

"There are just lots of aspects of pharmacy. You can work as a researcher, in the lab or you can work in the community or in a hospital, there are lots of opportunities."

In fact pharmacy graduates are among the most sought after in the modern job market. A 2009 survey by Graduate Careers Australia found that 97.6 per cent of pharmacy graduates get jobs within four months of graduating. Pharmacy is also among the highest paying graduate employment areas.

The Faculty is located at Moansh University's Parkville campus, just three km from the heart of Melbourne. The campus has first class teaching facilities and research laboratories arising from a $45 million redevelopment over the past two years.

Trang has settled in to life in Australia well, and is enjoying living close to Melbourne's modern city centre with its shops, restaurants and parks.

She has been sharing a house with a Vietnamese family from her own home town of Da Nang City and is even helping the family's young children with their school work.

"Australia is a beautiful place, and it is not too crowded or noisy," she said.

"And it is a multicultural society, I meet lots of people from Vietnam.

"I also have a great love of Korean movies and I have always wanted to learn to speak Korean and since I have started studying here I have met many Korean students who are teaching me the basics."

Not only is Monash Australia's largest university and ranked in the world's top 50, but it is also Australia's most international university.

The University has six Australian campuses, plus campuses in Malaysia and South Africa and a centre in Prato, Italy.

Monash University's 56,000 students come from more than 100 countries and include more than 17,000 international students.

Trang believes Vietnamese students should consider following her lead and pursuing opportunity wherever it takes them.

"It is important for young Vietnamese professionals to go out and see the world, because it opens your mind," Trang said.

"You get knowledge and you know what is going on around the world and you can find ideas that you can take back to Vietnam."