Chris Corrao is dreading Friday morning at the airport. Not only will it mark the end of an incredible time at Bond University but he’s also a chance to be slugged with an excess baggage fee.
The Canadian didn’t waste a single day in Australia and will head home with a Juris Doctor degree and a UniSport Sportsman of the Year trophy crammed into his bags among the regulation stuffed koalas, Tim Tams and jars of Vegemite that most students take home from their stay on the Gold Coast.
His other ‘souvenirs’ include being awarded first-in-class for Civil Dispute Resolution and again for Negotiation and Family Dispute Resolution, and he was named on the Vice Chancellor’s List for Academic Excellence.
When Bond Sport caught up with the 27-year-old ahead of his graduation ceremony, he revealed his final day would be spent reflecting on the special moments of his two years of hard work and intensive courses.
“I will sit through my ceremony and really just enjoy the moment,” he said.
“You only graduate from law school once, so I plan on making the most of every second of it.
“It has been such a privilege to study here.
“The campus and people are amazing. One thing I really appreciate about Bond is that the day I got here I felt welcomed, and I felt like I fit in from day one.”
After switching from the life of an American Division 1 collegiate tennis athlete, to entering Australia as a Juris Doctor student attempting to navigate life Down Under, Corrao found himself missing the familiarity of the tennis court.
A shoulder injury in his last year of undergraduate study had him thinking his time in competitive sport was over.
His main focus became his law classes, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something was missing.
Like a magnet he was drawn back to tennis.
“I played Division 1 tennis in the US and in my last year I had a partial tear in my labrum,” he said.
“That took me out of competitive tennis for a while.
“When I came to Australia I met some of the guys on the Bond team in the gym and they invited me to come out and play.
“When I started playing tennis with them my love for the sport started to come back, I officially joined the team and the rest is history.”
After two years with his new tennis buddies, Corrao will be saying goodbye to Bond with an impressive list of results.
Walking away with a third at UniSport Nationals, a semi-finals spot in one of Australia’s professional double tournaments, as well as the title of UniSport Sportsman of the Year, Chris has much to proud of from his time in Australia.
He will now head back to Toronto to begin the course required to earn the extra qualifications to practise law in Canada where he hopes to specialise in security, banking, and private equity.