By: Jami Pride

In July of 2016 Jordan Pride, a graduate of Flora High School began his journey to Sydney, Australia to earn a degree in worship ministry at Hillsong International Leadership College. Pride’s initial plan was to stay overseas for two years, but recently decided to change his degree to the pastoral field, which will require him to stay for three years.

“In Sydney they have so much to offer, so many things to do, public transportation, practically everything you want and need within 5-45 minute drive depending on the traffic.” Unlike Flora, you need to drive at least an hour or longer to arrive at a decent shopping mall. The vehicles there are similar but Jordan says, “You don’t see many big trucks in Sydney or Australia in general. The biggest trucks here are about the size of Coach Warren’s Toyota Tacoma.” The cars are generally smaller European cars. He purchased his own vehicle from a friend about 6 months after living there and said he got used to driving on the opposite side of the road fairly quickly. Lastly, he very much enjoys being forty minutes away from several beaches.

In high school Pride was the type of person who was involved in anything and everything. Wherever he was there was a crowd being entertained. One year the yearbook committee thought about having a “Where’s Jordan” page in the yearbook because he was in almost every picture.

Pride mentioned how appreciative he is of all the teachers at FHS and said “one of the most inspiring things is how they give everyone a chance no matter who they are or what their background is, they don’t single others out or think they are above them but instead they actually teach and act as if they are doing the journey of High School with them because they know that High School is just a part of life and there is so much more to life than just “getting all the answers right.”

Transferring from a small town to a big city would be a big shock for anyone who has not travelled much as a kid. As much as he loves being a citizen of Australia, he says the small community feel is great because you feel a sense of belonging and everyone wants to feel like they belong.