CQUniversity graduate Alain Mangan has experienced a 'rollercoaster of a life' and he's had TV cameras along for the ride in recent years...

Alain's early career path spluttered after he left school in Townsville and enrolled to study law. He dropped out after finding the course did not suit him.

LINK HERE for details on the Life At TV series

Alain with family members celebrating his graduation from CQUniversity in mid-2011

He then started work as a cleaner and transferred to Brisbane where he also worked as a taxi driver, door-to-door salesman, restaurant assistant manager and cleaning business operator.

It was around this time that he met his future wife Michelle during an online chat and, after several face-to-face meetings, the couple moved in together in Brisbane, making Alain the step father to four children.

"It was while Michelle was pregnant with our daughter Shine that she was in an online parenting forum and spotted news about a longitudinal study of children and a TV documentary called the Life At series.

"We were approached for a series of interviews with the documentary director in front of TV cameras and then were invited to a studio shoot. Since then they have sent cameras to important milestones in our lives such as Shine's birth, our wedding and me meeting with my mother for only the second time."

Alain explains that he was adopted out as a baby but eventually made contact with his birth mother living in Ireland a few years ago. He flew to Ireland during a study break from CQUniversity to meet his mother and 33 blood relatives. When his mother and a group of Irish relatives made a reciprocal visit to Brisbane, the TV cameras were on hand at the airport.

Alain (left) has connected with more of his family in recent years

Amidst all this excitment, Alain managed to keep his Flex studies in Biomedical Science under way and he graduated from CQUniversity mid-2011. More recently, he started a Master of Biotechnology with QUT but left with a Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology to change to a Master of Applied Science.

"I'm hoping to articulate into a PhD in May next year," he says.