Hi everyone! My name is Max Cowie. I’m a finance major hoping to work in healthcare operations/finance. This semester, I’m studying abroad through the CEA CAPA program at their Sydney site, taking classes and building professional experience in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic cities. I chose Sydney because it offered the perfect mix: a strong global business environment, a thriving healthcare sector, and a lifestyle unlike anything I’ve experienced back home. I was also drawn to the absolute remoteness of Sydney and how the country operated, mainly because I knew so little about it coming in.

I’m also going to be interning at a healthcare startup called CareGP. I’ll be doing business operations for them, handling a lot of day-to-day administration along with helping to optimize core functions of their business. This is an opportunity I’m especially excited for, as I’ve never been involved in a startup. CareGP is in a great spot to expand, and assisting with that expansion is something that will help my professional development in countless ways.

Over the next few months, I have goals that I’m hoping to work towards and accomplish. I want to improve my professional communication skills by immersing myself in a new workplace culture, and I want to become a more independent person through pushing myself to experience the city and all it has to offer.

I’m living at the Meriton Suites in Bondi Junction, which has proved to be a great location for access to the beach and the city. It’s been a nice mix of independence and comfort as I settle in. My classes are held at the CAPA site in Sydney, located near Chinatown. It’s been a blast exploring the area and finding the best food spots around.

Sydney has an energy that I’m not used to in the slightest, but I’m learning to love. I’m from New Jersey, and where I’m located, I don’t exactly have easy access to the coast. Being in a city so centered around the ocean and surf culture has been fascinating, and something that I can’t wait to dive into further while I’m here. One of my main goals while out here is to learn how to surf; we’ll see how well that ends up going. I’m hoping to get a cheap board off facebook marketplace soon, I think it’s pretty doable.

I can’t wait for the next 4 months and all the excitement that’s to come!