My name is Taylor O’Leary. As of 2014 I became enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood). I applied at CQUniversity as a school leaver in 2013 and originally studied psychology and health in the Bachelor of Arts course.
During this time, my mum was studying her education degree (first year) and I realised that I felt more passionately about her assignments than my own, so changed my career path to education. I am now proudly in my final year of the Bachelor of Education.
I felt nervous at first going into a new class as I already had friends from school who studied psychology with me. However, the lecturers in my first year gave us some great ‘ice-breaker’ activities to get to know everyone in our class. Surely enough, I became acquainted with everyone in the class and established close relationships with a small group of peers. Throughout the years the group we formed supported each other through assignments and provided a circle of people we could talk to about our experiences on our placements – I don’t think I could have survived without them.
I tried studying some subjects by distance education rather than on-campus to give me more of an opportunity to work outside of my university study. Transitioning from on-campus to distance was difficult for me as I missed the interaction with my peers. I preferred studying internally as it allowed me to engage in social activities and provided me the ability to collaborate with others on a weekly basis. I also loved the fact that lecturers were more accessible, I knew that if I was ever unsure about an aspect of the course that I could stay back and have a chat with my lecturer.
What am I most looking forward to after graduation? Getting a job! Hopefully. I will miss the study dates with my group but I will definitely not miss being a poor uni student all the time.
I look forward to establishing myself in a career and enjoy what I like doing most, teaching children how to become active, happy, healthy and educated members of society.
I hope that down the track, wherever we are, that I can meet with my old uni group again and share stories of the careers we worked so hard to achieve.
If you are considering enroling in course at CQU, my advice to you is ‘Do it! Start now.’ There is an incredible amount of satisfaction in working hard and achieving what you want most. I don’t think that anyone should ever have to settle for a job that they do not enjoy.
Bettering yourself is addictive, this may be my final year of my degree but I promise it won’t be my last year at CQUni.
For more information about the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) at CQUni, visit cqu.edu.au, phone 13 27 86 or visit your nearest CQUni location.
