When it comes to picking prospective colleges, many students feel overwhelmed when deciding where to attend. Senior Madisen Weaver, however, finds it hardly a challenge. Weaver plans to study abroad in Australia for college in January of 2020, fulfilling her lifelong dream.

Since early on in her childhood, Weaver always had a desire to explore and travel. More specifically, she had her head set on living in Australia. Taking her mother’s advice, Weaver has decided to study in Australia and will later decide on moving there permanently.

“When I was a little, about ten years old, we had this globe and I was obsessed with the globe ’cause it had Oceania and I always wanted to go to Australia and travel. I’ve always wanted to live there, and my mom told me to go study there before I decided to move,” said Weaver.

Weaver plans to attend the University of South Wales in Sydney, Australia for three years. She has become very intrigued by their Medical Research programs and looks toward pursuing an education in the Medical/Scientific field. She believes studying abroad will allow her to pursue her education more efficiently.

“[The] University of New South Wales has a degree program that offers international research scientist in medicine and health, which i’m very interested in. [In the US], it is two separate degrees, so it would take more time to get here. It’s also much cheaper over there,” said Weaver.

Weaver’s hardest obstacle at the moment is making sure she has more than enough money to move over. She will be working very hard the next year before she takes off to college to ensure she has her finances in check for the big move .

“I’m supposed to leave January 2020, I’m taking all of next year to work.” says Weaver. “[I’ve been] working very hard these last two years to get enough money and have a bit of extra money for when I move. My biggest fear right now is money; I need to make sure I have enough money to go and all of that.”

Although it’s a big move , Weaver is backed up by the support of her family and friends and knows they have her best interest in mind.

“They completely support me, they really do. Especially my boyfriend, he is leaving in June to go to Hillsong, and he just told me “You know you’ve always wanted to go, so why not?”,” said Weaver.

Being so far from home, Weaver is very excited that she won’t be alone throughout her journey. Since she has over friends in Australia, they will help her settle in when the time comes.

“It might be hard to be so far, but I’m honestly so ready for it,” says Weaver. “I have a lot of friends over there who are going to help me settle in.”

Beyond her desire to fulfill an education in Australia, Weaver is hoping to make the most of her time in Australia by traveling and discovering.

“I’m looking forward to just going, Australia is beautiful. I can’t wait. I love travelling I want to take weekend trips to different places. I’m very excited.”