Pathways to Griffith

While on my journey through high school I never considered university as an option, none of my family had been before me and I put what I knew of University into the too hard basket. Only the greatest of minds attended University and that wasn’t me, so I finished year 12 and went off to pave my way in the world. Over the years to come, I worked in many different industries, with many large organisations and picked up a certificate or two. I always strived for more and felt as though I could do better. Getting stuck in a job that didn’t really challenge me was not what I had set out for.

During my most recent full-time position, I was working closely with a good friend I had met at high school and he had recently been accepted by Griffith to study criminology. I always regarded him as a high achiever, so it came as no surprise to me that he was off to University. After having a good chat with him about what he was doing and what uni was like, he suggested I should apply, because there is nothing to lose if you apply, the worst that can happen is you don’t get offered a place.

I took what he said on board and went through the application process just to see what it was all about, I had little faith I would get in due to my work experience and only really achieving a Certificate III in the last few years. Little did I know at the time that Griffith has an amazing VET program that offers people like me a chance to study, people who wouldn’t normally get a second look but might have some potential. After applying I had put it out of my head because offers had not started yet, and I didn’t think I would even get a reply.

Flash forward a few weeks and I got sent both an email and a text message saying I was accepted. It came to me as a shock. Now was my chance to step up and take on a real challenge. However, where did I start? What do I do? Who do I talk to? What do I need? I had so many questions all come to me at once and the shock turned into concern that I wasn’t even ready for university. Lucky for me, once again, Griffith stepped up to the plate and helped me out from day one.

I was assigned a success advisor and I met with him very early on several times to answer all my questions, plan out my journey and guide me back into study. It had been six years since I finished school and I was worried about returning to study, meeting new people and being a little older than the majority. All of this, however, was catered to by Griffith, there were small catch up classes in the library on research techniques, writing techniques and everything I would need academically to carry on.

I joined a mature age group to meet others in my situation and the University offered catch-ups with staff to ensure we were on track. As someone who never thought they would be good enough for university, I was able to overcome the hurdle and do remarkably well. As a mature age, first-in-family student, the odds of me smashing University were low but Griffith gave me all the support I would ever need and helped me along the way.