About the Author
Alumnus follows his wife’s dreams only to find his own
God and religion were not part of George Jia’s upbringing. Where he lived in China, there were few Christian churches—not even Buddhism was encouraged. Still, he couldn’t help but believe there might be something “holy” out there.
Beijing-born and bred, George was raised a caring but very hard worker. He completed a Bachelor of Human Resource Management and dedicated the next 10 years to a global pharmaceutical company. During this time, he was promoted into a managerial position, met and married the love of his life, and was on his way to ticking the boxes he associated with success.
Driven professionally, George’s wife Christine wanted to live and work overseas. Based on advice from friends, the couple decided to make Australia home. The dream seemed grand but leaving China would come with sacrifices: a loss of job for George, a loss of health benefits, and with a new child on the way, a challenge for Christine to pick up work. Despite this, the lure of life overseas proved strong. Putting it all on the line, George and Christine decided to continue with their immigration and gift their child an Australian visa. Three months into their pregnancy and without employment, the Jias landed in Australia with excitement and trepidation. “While I felt we made the right decision to move, I didn’t expect to face so many challenges in Australia,” says George.
Basing themselves in the northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby, George set about seeking work while Christine put her professional plans on hold. While nursing as a profession had never crossed George’s mind, he found himself applying for one of the many Assistant in Nursing positions in the local paper. George had some training as an AIN in Beijing, loved the idea of helping others, and saw this as a stepping stone into the job market. He completed the required volunteer assessment hours at the Wahroonga House aged care facility, thanked the director, Melissa Yan, and said goodbye. She responded, “Why goodbye? You’re a caring worker. We can offer you a job here. Come back tomorrow.”
Over the next two years, Melissa persuaded George to study a nursing degree and offered him as much work as he needed. With recommendations from Melissa and other colleagues, George accepted an offer to study at Avondale. Feeling the financial pinch, George navigated weekend work, full-time study, and parenthood.
What George didn’t anticipate? The Avondale experience. “I found confidence, my voice, my calling, and the beginning of a relationship with God.” He remembers three key moments:
- A call from Sharon Turner in Admissions offering financial support—it brought George to tears.
- A thoughtful prayer over students before an examination—in contrast to his childhood when teachers were often referred to as “owls” because of their police-like strictness.
- Stories from lecturer Sonja Dawson about her experience serving on a Mercy Ships floating hospital in Africa.
Each of these left no doubt in George’s mind: God was real and wanted a relationship with him.
George completed his degree and received the Sydney Adventist Hospital Prize for Consistent Effort and Accomplishment at graduation in 2016. A great honour for him and his parents.
In late 2018, the Jia family was on the move again, this time to Orange County (California, USA). While Christine studied and worked full time in accountancy, George cared for the couple’s young daughters and spent the next two-and-a-half years transferring paperwork and meeting requirements to work as a nurse. It also gave him time to attend and serve at the local Christian evangelical church. George joined the church through baptism this past year and continues to contribute to and be sustained by the community there during the pandemic challenges.
With the influence of Melissa Yan and his experience at Wahroonga House, George continues to harbour a keen interest in age care. He’s now seeking opportunities to combine his management and nursing skills to change how age care is delivered. The fallout from COVID has slowed his plans but not his passion. He hopes to run his own nursing home one day. Soon.
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