Jodie Wise loved her career as a radiographer and sonographer. But when she was diagnosed with arthritis, she was no longer able to operate the machines she had worked with for 27 years.
“I started having problems scanning and I was getting quite unwell. I decided if I wanted to be productive, I needed to do something less physical.”
Despite initially thinking university might not be for her, Jodie took the plunge and decided to study the Bachelor of Behavioural Science at the University of Tasmania.
“Radiography is amazing and I’ve loved every minute of it, so it was quite a difficult decision to come to. I’ve always enjoyed my patient contact and I focused on that.
“I did a couple of bridging units first, Academic Writing and Academic Numeracy. It was really valuable because it reminded me how to approach essay writing,” Jodie said.
“That was a really nice introduction to studying again.”
Jodie is now in her second year of her degree, and said she is “actually doing really well!”
“I didn’t think I was smart enough to go back to uni initially. One of my colleagues said, ‘don’t be ridiculous,’ so I thought right, I’ll give it a go.
I’m absolutely loving it. Once I started my degree, I was off and running and excited about it. It feels like the right decision for me and I intuitively feel really happy with it.
It didn’t take Jodie long to settle into uni life.
“I’ve really enjoyed just being open to all the different streams of psychology, and I’m still trying to decide which way I’ll go. It’s exciting to have so many options.
“I now have a lot of friends who are a lot younger, and I think that’s really nice. There are so many intelligent young people that have so much to offer, and it’s exciting to be a part of that.
“Stepping out of my safety zone was challenging, but I knew that I had to do it,” she said.
“It’s been really good for me mentally.”
And with two teenage kids, Jodie said family time now includes studying together at the dining table.
It’s been good for them to see me improving myself like this. My daughter has just chosen her subjects for grade 10 and Introduction to Psychology is one of them. She said ‘it would be great to help people like you want to do.’
Jodie plans to one day work as a counsellor, or possibly in health psychology.
“I think if you’re the kind of person who enjoys intellectual stimulation and learning new things, going back and studying is worthwhile.”
Apply now to study Psychology.