Making a difference to regional SA
by Katrina Kalleske
UniSA’s two regional campuses have celebrated their students’ graduations in two separate events.
Almost 50 students attended the graduation ceremony on April 17 in Whyalla and a further 26 graduates celebrated in Mount Gambier on April 24.
UniSA’s Director of the Centre for Regional Engagement, Neil Otway, believes studying in a regional campus can provide a unique university experience.
"Smaller class sizes often lead to more personalised interactions between staff and students," Otway says.
"One of UniSA’s strategic goals is to make a real and tangible contribution to regional South Australia’s social and economic development, and we believe we are achieving these goals.
"The Centre for Regional Engagement provides quality teaching and learning at its regional campuses - Whyalla and Mount Gambier.
"We are also leaders in a range of research initiatives focused on community development, rural health and Indigenous issues."
Each year, the UniSA Medal for the Centre for Regional Engagement is awarded to a student with outstanding academic merit and high performance throughout their degree program.
This year’s winner is Karen Dreckow, a Mount Gambier Bachelor of Nursing graduate.
"Amazing" is how the 48-year-old described the award. And Dreckow is an admirable recipient having tackled many challenges throughout her three years of study at UniSA.
She was already a Diploma Enrolled Nurse and had completed various certificates while still working in aged care. Studying to become a Registered Nurse was the first internal study she had undertaken.
Dreckow lives on a remote farm in the South East that is right in the heart of a telecommunications blackspot, so she had to do a lot of commuting to the Mount Gambier campus where she could access the lectures and other learning material online.
"When the Mount Gambier campus was set up, I saw it as an opportunity to study in my own region," she said.
"Growing up, I had wanted to become a psychologist but living in a rural area, Port Lincoln, in the late 1970s, there were many barriers to study – not the least being the huge upheaval in moving to Adelaide.
"So I got on with life. I married, had two children and became a carer in my local community."
Able to receive credit for her qualification as an Enrolled Nurse, Dreckow began her study in the second year of the Bachelor of Nursing degree at Mount Gambier in 2006.
However, she said that presented its own challenges.
"By the time students get to second year they are expected to know how to write their assignments in the required academic style. So that first assignment I completed was very interesting."
Despite the challenge, she managed to get a Credit in a sea of Pass grades.
On top of the study, Dreckow was working part-time to help support her daughter who had just moved to Roseworthy to begin her own university studies.
"I did have a lot of support from my husband – every night he had a dinner on the table," she said.
"And I had a core group of great friends who proof-read my assignments."
Dreckow said the steep learning curves were learning to use a computer and to do research.
"I achieved what I set out to achieve with study, plus more, including the award I received," she said.
"I think studying on a regional campus was very beneficial. The largest group we had in our lectures was about 30 people, compared to much larger classes in the city.
"Because the classes were smaller we could interact more freely and we always received excellent support from the lecturers - we became a large family, caring for each other."
Dreckow is now employed in a graduate program with a chosen focus in aged care at Boandik Lodge Inc. in Mount Gambier. She is living in the city during the week before heading back home to the farm for the weekends.
Other awards for the Mount Gambier and Whyalla graduates included:
- The CPA Prize for a business graduate at Whyalla – Rebecca Edwards;
- The CPA Prize for an accounting graduate at Whyalla – Prachi Goel;
- The Rod Gill Prize for a graduate in Corporations and Partnership Law at Whyalla – Anna Gasanova;
- The Centacare Prize for a Bachelor of Social Work graduate from Whyalla – John Webb; and from Mount Gambier – Amanda Koppe; and
- The Margaret Grace McNair award for a Bachelor of Nursing graduate from Whyalla or Mount Gambier – Susan Jennings (Mount Gambier graduate).
To read about the first Mount Gambier social work graduates, click here.