What’s better than watching your friend graduate from the University of the Sunshine Coast, with one of its top academic honours?
Standing right next to them, doing the same thing.
That’s exactly what Bella Chaseling and Rebecca Gallagher did when they take took the stage, to accept the University Medal for Academic Excellence, alongside the more than 180 students graduating at UniSC’s Moreton Bay campus.
When Bella heard about the new UniSC campus coming to Moreton Bay, she wasn’t sure what degrees they offered – let alone which one she might want to do.
She certainly didn’t know she would go on to graduate from there with Bachelor of Animal Ecology, travel to Africa, put backpacks on ibises and present to some of the world’s top ecologists.
“The whole degree has been such an immersive experience,” Bella said.
“It was a bit of a last-minute decision to enrol, but within the first few months on a field trip to Minjerriba (Stradbroke Island), I knew I’d made the right choice.
“Since then, I’ve done fieldwork on K’gari, travelled to Africa to learn about ecological management, and completed undergraduate research with Dr Dominique Potvin on ibises, which was just accepted by the International Society for Behavioural Ecology! I’ll be presenting it to them in a few weeks.”
Bella’s passion for those real-world experiences outside the classroom, was reflected in her remarkable results inside it.
She was one of only two students from the graduating cohort at UniSC’s Moreton Bay campus to be awarded the prestigious University Medal for Academic Excellence, for achieving a GPA of more than 6.80.
The only other student to rival that accomplishment, is one her classmates, Rebecca
And she’s anything but her rival.
“She’s actually a really good friend! And we met studying at UniSC,” Bella said.
Rebecca already knew she wanted to work with animals – she’s spent the past ten years working as a zookeeper and wildlife handler.
But the idea of going to university to pursue that passion further, just didn’t seem possible.
“I never imagined I would go to uni. I was a nervous about how I’d go with researching articles, sitting in lecture halls for hours and trying to take it all in,” she said.
But a conversation with her mum, encouraging her to give it a go, changed everything.
She made the leap, enrolled in a Bachelor of Animal Ecology at UniSC and to her surprise, Rebecca flourished.
“It wasn’t what I was expecting. There was a lot more hands-on work, face-to-face time with the teachers and one-on-one support,” she said.
“I was on the same ENS333 Special Field Studies course in Africa as Bella – hanging out in Kruger National Park, talking to experts in wildlife and environmental management – it was amazing.
“That trip was lead by Dr Gabe Conroy, who has since offered me the opportunity to come back to UniSC to complete an Honours project, which I’ve accepted.”
Post-graduate study, a University Medal for Academic Excellence, finishing with a GPA above 6.80 – it’s a far-cry from the Rebecca who wondered if she’d be able to handle her first lecture.
But she said the journey of self-belief and discovery to get there has been every bit as satisfying as the results.
“I always knew Bella would be up there – she’s amazing – but I never thought I would be too,” Rebecca said.
“It been a lot of hard work. But I’ve discovered not only am I good at this, I actually really enjoy it (laughs).
“If I’d gone to any other university, I don’t think I’d be in this position. The small class sizes, with lecturers who are world-class researchers and industry leaders… it’s made all the difference.”
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