The students engaged with this program typically face life challenges such as substance misuse, mental health issues, homelessness and have potentially experienced major psychological distress. A return to study can enable them to experience positive change when supported to achieve their goals.
Suzanne graduated with her Certificate in Liberal Studies through CatholicCare’s Clemente Fitzroy Program and is now a full-time Bachelor of Arts student at Australian Catholic University (ACU). These are some of her reflections from being on campus for 18 months:
I get assistance at student administration to enrol and choose my tutorials. When I go to the bookshop to get my new books I get really excited about the upcoming semester. I generally read quite a bit even before classes start.
I get excited for the first lecture, when I get told about the course requirements. It can seem a bit overwhelming knowing I have to do three essays and a talk or two essays, a talk and an exam – a bit of panic can set in from time to time. I think about how am I going to do this. I can be plagued with self doubt and imagine myself failing, but the routine of good study habits always pulls me through. The fact that I am at university means I must have the capabilities to stay here, so I think about that. I’m not at university by accident, but sometimes I have to remind myself.
Whatever the situation, being in the main body of students week-in, week-out is exhilarating for me and helps to define who I am – a university student studying for her degree, not just someone with schizophrenia, which is something I have struggled with during my life.
Included in one of the challenges is looking for scholarly material on the internet. Negotiating computers can be tricky for people who do not regularly use them, but my student, who is a bit like a learning partner, helps me and so can the academic skills unit if I need them. I have trouble editing essays sometimes, but my student and tutor are able to point me in the right direction. I don’t hesitate to clarify things with my tutor if I don’t understand something. Lecturers and tutors at ACU are extremely approachable and eager to help.
Finishing the first draft of an essay is always a huge relief, and if I really want to be on top of my studies I can aim to complete projects ahead of time. It gives me an extra week or two so that I have a feeling I am basically in control of my studies, and not the other way around.
When the final exam is over, and the work is done, there is a huge sense of relief despite not yet having received the results. There is about two months holiday between semesters, and I can tell you that by the end of that two months I am fed up with holidays and itching to study again! Choosing new subjects is exciting. but saying goodbye to old lecturers and tutors is a bit sad.