One of our first Pakistani students, Rafiq Punjwani is happy with his career, family and life in Australia around 2 decades after arriving at our Rockhampton Campus, then in transition as the University College of Central Queensland.

Rafiq says he really struggled with the 'Aussie accent' when he arrived in 1990 but overcame the language barrier by socialising with locals and by accepting help from other Pakistanis living locally.

Rafiq and family during their visit to Rockhampton Campus

After graduating from the newly renamed University of Central Queensland in 1994, Rafiq moved to Melbourne and enrolled in a Masters of Business program at Victoria University.

"After completing my Masters in 1997, I left Australia and went to Singapore to start my career in Information Technology," he said.

"I worked for IBM (Singapore) as IT Engineer for about 3 Years. I migrated to Australia in the year 2000 and worked as an IT Consultant for AusnetInfo and ColesMyer. I'm currently working as a  Senior Technical Specialist for National Australia Bank.

"We have large Pakistani community in Melbourne. Occasionally, I get involved in organising community functions, Eid functions (Christmas-like day for Muslims) and community table tennis and cricket competitions."

Rafiq said he was content with his circumstances but in "later age" would consider volunteering to help poor people struggling to survive, in countries like Africa or Pakistan.

Rafiq's efforts to overcome the language barrier have paid off, 20 years later

Now fully settled in Australia, he brought his family to Rockhampton Campus at the end of last year to show them where he started out.

"Rockhampton had only a 50,000 population back in 1990; back then it was a quiet little town. The good thing about Rocky was and still is that people are very very friendly and helpful." Rafiq said.

"That was the only reason I managed to complete my education successfully. Teachers and admin staff helped me through difficult times. The staff were easily approachable and always available, especially when I was struggling to cope with my studies and other affairs.

"Rockhampton has changed a lot since 1990. When I visited in October 2008 with my family [my wife (Asifa), Danyal (boy), Nohail (boy) and little angle (Alisha)], I was shocked to see hustle and bustle.

"Undoubtedly, Rocky has grown and became a major city in Central Queensland. Surely, people love to live there.  I visited all my favourite spots, such as the Uni, Yeppoon Beach and the Shopping Centre on the Bruce Highway. I love Rockhampton and still miss it a lot!"