Development Studies graduate makes a global mark

Friday, 14 July 2023

Like many school leavers, Nick wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do after he left school. He worked a few different jobs, did some travelling, and then tried his hand in a trade apprenticeship before deciding he wanted to enrol in university. It was this decision that ultimately led him to find his passion for humanitarian studies.

Nick holding debris from a beach in Samoa
During his study immersion trip to Samoa, Nick helped clean up local beaches

“I initially enrolled in a Bachelor of Science, which meant I had the chance to try a range of subjects.

“It was the humanitarian-focused subjects that really piqued my interest, so I decided to transfer to a Bachelor of Development Studies,” Nick said.

An immersive study trip to Samoa offered as part of a New Colombo Plan short course – aiming to build deeper Indo-Pacific knowledge, capability, and connections – reassured Nick that he was on the right path to a career he genuinely cared about.

“We did hands-on activities like beach clean ups, coral restoration work and mangrove planting,” Nick said.

“Local communities and businesses are under threat from climate change, and unsustainable tourism and development. Hearing about their challenges, first-hand, was very eye-opening.”

The University of Newcastle signed an agreement with a Samoan village, Moata'a, to enable students to study and research a local mangrove ecosystem. The students witnessed the signing of the agreement with the village’s High Chief’s and the Australian High Commissioner to Samoa.

“There was a traditional kava ceremony to welcome us to the village. They said from now on we are family, not guests, so that was a really cool experience,” Nick said.

Nick was one of 18 University of Newcastle students who participated in the trip.

“During the disruption of the pandemic, it was harder to socialise and meet new people but through this trip I made long-term friends,” Nick said.

“I got to stay with a local family for three nights and experience their way of life. It was an amazing cultural experience.”

Another highlight for Nick during his degree was the opportunity to do work integrated learning at an international development organisation, Adara Group.

Having not worked in an office environment before or in a job related to his degree, Nick said the exposure to a work setting helped him realise the type of roles he was interested in. “It was interesting to see concepts that I’d learnt at Uni applied to real life projects.

“I got to see what actually goes into the work, and the diverse range of roles involved in these types of Non-Government Organisations. Prior to this I really didn’t know what I’d be doing, but knew I wanted to work in the field somehow.”

Nick's work researching professional development plans and quality improvement process frameworks was given to education teams in Nepal to help improve schooling.

“To see first-hand the direct influence I was having on the projects run by Adara, as well as the teams around me was pretty profound.

“I got to play a part in making a genuine difference to the lives of people living in poverty,” Nick said.

Nick will graduate from a Bachelor of Development studies in a ceremony at 2pm on Friday 14 July.

Nick is one of 1,400 students graduating this week. Read more about our Callaghan graduation ceremonies here.

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