Student Testimonials

Simone Machado - Brazil

General English (TELL)

Simone Machado is a Brazilian student from Russo English | Australia. Despite joining our General English program at an Elementary level, Simone has improved in leaps and bounds since starting at the college. One of her teachers, Rebecca, says "she tries extremely hard and helps all the other students with their work." Between classes Simone makes the effort to speak to other students and practice her newly acquired English skills.

Hui, Zhang (Izola) - China

General English (TELL)

Izola came to Sarina Russo Schools | Australia as she believed it was the best place to study Commercial Cookery. After realising this to be true, she now loves her life in Brisbane and hopes to stay here to find a job in one of the city’s largest restaurants. She has learnt a lot throughout her course and is grateful that all of her teachers are experts in their field and very good communicators. She’s also made lots of friends from all over the world and has learnt a lot about different cultures and Australia. "I have a very easy and enjoyable life in Brisbane and at Sarina Russo Schools | Australia. I hope all my friends will come and join me one day – I want to share my great life here with them!"

Jin Woo (David) Kim - Korea

General English (TELL)

Described as a pleasure to teach, David has been an outstanding English student at Sarina Russo Schools | Australia since August 2008. He will complete his studies at the end of January and admits that his English has improved "a lot!" with the help of his encouraging teachers.

"I have particularly enjoyed the flexible timetable options in the TELL program. If I want to change to another class, it’s easy to do so - I like that I get to choose my timetable" said David.

In the future, David is enthusiastic about going home to Korea. "I’m going to get a job using my improved English skills. Without these, finding employment in my home country is very hard," he said. David is looking forward to using the knowledge and skills he has developed at Russo to help him get ahead in the future. We wish him all the best!

Wei-Cheh (Jess) Hsieh - Taiwan

Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management
(Commercial Cookery Stream)

Wei-Cheh (Jess) Hsieh is currently studying an Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management (Commercial Cookery Stream) at Sarina Russo Schools │ Australia. With the assistance of the Employment & Careers Division, Jess has been employed in the kitchen at Wagamama’s Restaurant in Brisbane!

Jess describes her experience with the Employment & Careers Division to be very helpful. After registering for job assistance and preparing a resume, an interview opportunity was arranged. Her positive attitude to the industry and impressive references from Vocational Placement Chefs ensured her interview was a success. Her responsibilities include: preparing ingredients, chopping vegetables, cooking noodles and plating meals. Jess enjoys the people she works with and says that the cooking skills she is learning through her course have assisted her to be successful in her current role. "I’ve learnt many skills that are useful in the kitchen. The course is really useful for a future career in the hospitality industry," she said.

Audrey Stow - Macau

Diploma of Hospitality

Before starting university, Audrey knew she needed to improve her grades and thought that Sarina Russo Schools | Australia would be the perfect place to do so. On completion of her studies, she now hopes to attend one of Australia’s top universities in Hotel or Event Management. "I like that the campus here is located in the heart of the city and is easy to get to and that I have the opportunity to study with a mix of students from different cultures". Audrey also loves that the weather is always sunny in Brisbane and that the people are easy going and friendly. She hopes that other students from around the world will take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities Sarina Russo Schools | Australia

Emma Crawford - Australia

Diploma of Tourism (Operations)

Like many other school leavers, Emma Crawford was a little bit lost. Wanting to study, but unsure of what to do, Emma found that she did not like the structure of university courses and disliked the thought of being "just another number". She wanted to find a course that provided personalised support and direction, while also keeping her interested and catering to what she loves. Having a passion for travel and new cultures, Emma looked into something she’d never thought of – tourism.

While originally enrolled in a Certificate IV in Tourism, Emma enjoyed the first six months of her course so much that she decided to upgrade to a Diploma of Tourism ( Operations), of which she is due to finish in November 2009. So what does Emma like about Sarina Russo Schools | Australia?

Emma says that course is both interesting and understandable – the small classes mean that there is great one-on-one interaction with her supportive teachers and the mix of international students provide both diversity and rich culture. Emma emphasises that she has learnt so much from her classes, beyond the standard course structure, saying that she never knew that you could work in so many fields with just one qualification!

In addition, Emma has confidence in our Job Placement Assistance Service, saying that Russo’s commitment to providing work for graduates was another deciding factor in choosing us. As Emma explains, it is something very useful in today’s environment! So far, Emma has completed Industry Placement at Harvey World Travel, completing office-based tasks and experiencing a hands-on approach to the industry.

In the future, Emma is undecided which path in Tourism to choose, although she is interested in further training when she comes back from a world trip!

Airi Kinoshita - Japan

Certificate IV in Tourism

Airi came to us from Kumamoto, Japan almost a year ago to help her gain qualifications and experience to improve her job prospects. Although already studying Hospitality and Tourism at university in Japan, Airi believed that studying Tourism in English here at Russo would not only improve her language skills, but would also allow her to have a bit of fun while doing so!

Airi has found the mix of international and domestic students in her class to be of a great advantage to her. Why? Because it means that students can learn about other cultures and improve their individual knowledge of the tourism industry. In fact, Airi believes that this mix is the most important thing about Russo! When asked about the difficulty of classes, Airi explains that although it’s not always easy learning in English, she has no trouble keeping up with the course work and has found that her language skills have really improved while being here. If Airi needs to ask questions about her course, she has described staff as very friendly, kind and helpful, and being able to talk Japanese to our Admissions team was an added bonus!

Airi enjoyed our Industry Placement program too, saying it was fantastic to learn some insight into what’s happening in the Tourism Industry, while also gaining practical skills and making industry contacts.

We wish Airi the best with her studies and hope she enjoys her remaining time in Australia!

Kwan Mak - Hong Kong

Diploma of Business

When Kwan was back home in Hong Kong and working, she decided she wanted to start studying again but didn’t have a high enough score to enter university right away. After doing some research, she learnt that after completing an eight month Diploma of Business at Sarina Russo Schools | Australia, she could transfer straight into university. Since enrolling at the school, she has never looked back and now hopes to continue her studies at one of the top universities in Brisbane. "I love that I can transfer into university after only 8 months here. My teachers have been great and the campus is located in the middle of the city so it’s very convenient!" Kwan loves the fresh, relaxed atmosphere of Brisbane and loves living close to the beach. She can’t wait for her friends to come and visit her and hopefully be inspired to study at SRSA with her too!