I received the first offer, from the University of Sydney, on October 29th. I then waited AN ENTIRE MONTH for the other two offers, which came on Dec 1st (UNSW) and Dec 2nd (LTU). Having received offers from all 3 universities, I chose to accept the offer from my first choice, La Trobe University in Melbourne.
As of now, I have faxed my acceptance contract, made my tuition and health insurance down payments, set up my Australian bank account, and booked my flight for February 5th! Awaiting my Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE) form to take to the Australian consulate to apply for my student visa, and then I'll be all set!Excited/dreading apt-shopping, but that still needs to be done, as well as packing up my life once again. More on that later.
Special thanks to Stewart Perry, Celeste McGee, Dr Jane Dominik, and Sunny Napawongse for my awesome recommendation letters; my appreciation is indescribable, as this next step would not have been possible without your contributions.
A few excerpts from their letters:
"I was personally impressed with Amelia and her fortitude to be willing and available to help those who often have horrible, messy and sad, sad stories while balancing her full time responsibilities as a teacher. Amelia showed great courage, being willing to listen to sex worker’s stories and needs in the midst of a crazy atmosphere. She also showed great flexibility and compassion as schedules changed frequently due to the staff’s workload and the sex workers’ having personal crisis." -Volunteer Reference
"One of the reasons Amelia has succeeded in creating a diverse group of friends and certainly why she has been an effective teacher is that she is consistently present and dependable. As a pastor I see many young adults come to Bangkok and lose themselves, but Amelia has stayed grounded. She has inserted herself into various service opportunities through the church and been a very reliable friend for people in need." -Character Reference
"Ms. Towle proved to be an extremely competent teacher having started here at Sacred Heart with no prior teaching experience in a Thai school. She is a fast learner and brings her own dynamic personality to the experience. She is very hardworking and extremely reliable. Her classes are well organized, engaging and productive. Her ability to focus and care for individual students under her charge is very commendable as she had close to 140 students. She will be missed by her students." -Work Reference
"In my most recent interview with her, it was a pleasure to see her maturity and dedication to her chosen field of study and learn about her work overseas. She is sharp, incisive, intelligent, and energetic. The combination of her overseas experiences and her energy and intelligence bodes well, I believe, for her pursuit of graduate studies and her career goals. I also believe she will bring a passion and dedication to her graduate and career work that will, in turn, add to any collaborations and help those she is focused on helping." -Academic Reference
