Finding My Feet

Starting at a new University is a lot like starting at a new school. For most kids, this happens when they move from Primary to High School at a time where they are just discovering their own personal identity. During my move to Sydney and my subsequent arrival at a new University campus, the only benefit I had over a pre-pubescent teenager was that I already new who I was and who I wanted to be. Aside from this, my first day at my new Campus was just as terrifying as my first day at High School. I had no idea where to go, where to eat, where the bathroom was or who could potentially be a new friend.
Like my first day at High School, I was terrified that I would receive no help in getting my bearings and that the friends and guidance I longed to find would only be discovered after a lot of work and a lot of time. This fear proved to be completely unfounded! Not only were my new classmates helpful but they were downright friendly and caring! They showed me around, walked me to my classes and reassured me that my new campus would feel like home in no time at all. 
How right they were. In what seemed like no time at all, I had an amazingly strong and supportive group of friends who seemed not only happy to both guide me in my last year of Primary Education but also support me in finding my feet in both a new city and a new education system. To my surprise, this support has not faded since the first few weeks of my first semester at my new campus but has continued despite me well and truly finding my feet in Sydney. 

Thanks to the new friends I’ve made at ACU, this last semester at Uni has not only been the most enjoyable but also the most academically successful year of my degree so far. My success isn’t just because of my renewed drive and passion for my career but because of all the new friends I have made since my move to Sydney and all the support, time and care they have given me since my first day at ACU Strathfield.
To all these wonderful new friends I offer these words. 
“Friendship isn't about whom you have known the longest... It's about who came, and never left your side”.

By Matt Russo

The Next Chapter

Last weekend I attended the Pinnacle Foundation's first ever Scholar Induction. I got up at the crack of dawn to get on a train from the south west to Circular Quay and it turned out that I was amongst many deserving scholars who came from much further than me. As I participated in a myriad of activities in the Museum of Contemporary Art, I gradually got to know each of the scholars. At lunch we went out on groups of five and I went with one local and three interstate scholars. Everyone was extremely friendly and eager to get to know each other - which made me very frustrated that i was losing my voice because I wanted to talk to everyone.

The day wasn't only about socialising; it was full of some very wise speakers who shared their wisdom, inspiring stories and gave us useful advice. We learnt about or had a refresher course on goal setting and stress management. The best part of having these talks was having group conversations and learning from mentors and other scholars. By the end of the day, I think everyone felt a little more at ease about continuing with their education. Wether it be high school, TAFE, undergraduate or post graduate-study, we were all well equipped to take on the next exciting chapter in our lives.

Going out to dinner that night was a nice ending to the evening. We were all very relaxed and comfortable by that point so the conversations were flowing. After ordering dessert there was a sad feeling that came over me knowing that I might not see some of these amazing students again. Thank goodness for technology though because I can at least keep in touch with them on that level. We said our goodbyes at the entrance of the restaurant as everyone dispersed into different directions; into Taxis, back to hotels, back to the airport, back home.
The entire day made me feel so special and incredibly lucky. I am a part of the Pinnacle family and I will look back on this time in my life very fondly. 

As I write this, I realise I have just completed my first week of studying at Macquarie University. I started my first year with a lot less stress because of the support I have received from the Pinnacle Foundation. I look forward to doing my best and making my friends, family, mentor and tutors proud. 

By Daniela Ivana Barisic Sprem

Day One

As I begin to look forward to starting the second semester of my first year at Uni I am filled with feelings of excitement and anticipation. It makes me look back to the beginning of the year when I had my first ever class after not studying for something like 6 years. I was an emotional wreck. If only I knew then, what I know now…

University Day 1, February 2012:
I walk into possibly the most frightening area I have ever stepped foot, an area so richly drenched in the scent of academia that I can hardly breathe. I couldn’t feel more out of place. I move awkwardly amongst the crowd trying not to be noticed, desperately avoiding anyone who looks as though they might disrupt my strategically planned route to my first ever University tutorial. This environment is so foreign yet at the same time appears strangely familiar. It has aspects which remind me of high school and for a second I feel as though I have reverted to my high school self. I clutch my shoulder bag as if it were my life force, or my safety blanket. My only objective is survival, if I last the distance from the entrance gate to my classroom I will consider it my first achievement. The first of many I hope. 

As I dash in and out of the crowd with a panicked expression I suddenly realise how ridiculous I must look and try to steady myself. It doesn’t work and I somehow manage to make things worse by cutting off other students whose irritation is vividly stretched across their faces. I spot the nearest open space and move towards it, as I try to regain my composure I notice a sign outside a building that reads, “Electrical Engineering.” HOORAY! This is exactly the building which houses the classroom for my first tutorial. I can’t believe my luck! By my (obviously ill-informed) calculations I shouldn’t be anywhere near here. Most would call it coincidence, but I’m going with intuition! Maybe I’m not such a fish out of water after all. As I scour the halls searching for my assigned room I begin to feel my anxieties rise once again, “What if nobody likes me? What if it’s all too much for me?” I find my room and enter it with apprehension only to be met with smiling faces and a polite “Welcome” from my tutor. I realise immediately how silly I’ve been and find a chair to call my own. As my neighbour engages me in conversation I start to feel a new sense of pride rise from within me. It comes from the depths of my soul and engulfs me with such force I can hardly contain it. I’ve made it to the beginning of my future and I can’t wait to get started.

By Steven Walker

Turning things around

Hi Ashleigh,

Tony & I have just finished marking the exams. During this process, we also keep track of students whose answers are particularly good. You’re one of these students. Your overall result was strong, but we just wanted you to know that the quality that impressed us most was your sensible approach to the scenarios.

Tony & I are looking forward to being involved in your education next Semester. We want to hear your voice in the Tutorials as well – your knowledge base shows you certainly have some useful information for your peers. Speak up!

Great work. Keep it up.

Regards

Cam, and on behalf of Tony.

- - -

Above is an email from my lecturers at uni, sent last Friday. When I got it I cried.

I will never, ever forget that moment.

Last year Cam and Tony would not have known I existed. They wouldn't have seen me during lectures, because I was at work during most of them. They wouldn't have noticed my marks, because I was barely scraping by. They wouldn't have noticed me in tutorials, because I was always running late from work and leaving early to go back to work, and spent the time in class staying as small and as quiet as possible, while desperately trying to catch up on what I had missed that week.

This email was sent to several other students. They will file it away with all the other encouragement they have ever received from their lecturers, parents and families. For me, it is stuck on my bathroom mirror, because it is the first time since I have started my degree that I have felt hopeful. It is the first time I have real hope that I might actually finish my degree.

Every single day I have struggled to stay with my education. Life has felt like a catch 22 – If you want to study at uni you need the money to buy books and pay rent and food and go to the doctors and just live, so you work a lot but when you work a lot you don't have time to go to uni or study for uni, so your grades begin to fail and it looks like you might not pass your courses, so you cut back your hours and fit some more study in, but then its harder to make rent so you get stressed and the fear of living on the streets forces you back to work everyday and you tell yourself that the basic essentials are shelter food and water and that education can come later, except that education is the way out of poverty, and you learnt that at uni, so you should just try try try to get this degree and don't give up just yet, just get through one more semester and it won't last forever and one day you will graduate.

Thanks to Pinnacle, that 'one day' is looking a lot more possible today, then it was a year ago. Why don't you better your odds? Put yourself in a better position. Make a Choice, to apply for a scholarship. Take a Chance that it might get accepted. Take the steps to Change your situation. Apply for a Pinnacle Scholarship today.

By Ashleigh Scriven