As students wake up across our region, some with excitement and others with dread all awaiting their ATAR results for 2020, it's important to remember that your ATAR does not define you and no matter what that number is, your career is not made or broken today.
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What you decide to study next year may not be where you end up in 3, 5 or 10 years. When I finished my HSC in 2010, I had already been accepted to study a Post Graduate in Radio Broadcasting and Communications at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney, I was lucky to of been accepted into this program based on previous study and volunteer work in community radio that I had career out during my HSC.
My ATAR was only 48.
It was a fantastic dream at 17, and now a decade later I have spent most of my career in Business Development for the Employment and Training sector.
Sure, I worked in radio for several years, had my own breakfast radio program on ROK FM 95.5 in Parkes and loved every minute of it, but I saw a different path to achieve my passion.
Am I less fulfilled because I am not in the career I thought I would be? The short answer is no. The longer answer is that we mature and so do our goals and passions.
I wanted to bring people a good joke, lighten their day and give back to my community, my goal and passion has not changed a decade later I just found a better way to affect that goal. As the Centre Manager at the Country Universities Centre (CUC) Parkes I get to directly help people discover their goals, give back to my community and support people through the tough times to achieve those goals.
It is important to remember there is support after High School for students looking to study in 2021.
The CUC Parkes is here to assist students looking to study in Higher Education. If you did not get the ATAR you needed the Centre is here to help you decide on what course to do next year, help you navigate the enrolment process and can also help students find a pathway to get into the field they wanted to study but may not meet the direct requirements.
If you did get the ATAR you needed you can access the Centre to get assistance with finding and applying for scholarships for next year and also register with the Centre for use during holidays or home visits.
All students studying in Higher Education will be able to attend our workshops, get assistance with their studies and become apart of their local learning community.
Registration with the CUC is free and you gain access to the Centre and the support that comes with that.
Do not let your ATAR define you, we are here to help. Contact me on 0437 125 712, find us on Facebook at CUC Parkes or drop into the Centre located in the Parkes Shire Library Complex.
The CUC Parkes was opened by and is supported by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment through the Regional University Centres Program and ongoing support from the NSW Government.
