Malcolm Johnson was all smiles when presented with the Campus Director's Award during the recent CQUniversity graduation ceremony, held at Star City's Grand Harbour Ballroom in Sydney.

Story by Dr Chris Keane

Having left family and friends in the UK to study at CQUniversity Australia, he was determined to achieve. Malcolm set himself the target of a "minimum credit grade" in every course and soon exceeded his expectations by notching up a string of Distinctions and High Distinctions.

Malcolm's proud day at graduation

In 2009 he articulated from a Graduate Diploma of Management to a Master of Business Administration, specialising in Marketing.

In the UK, Malcolm had not planned to go to university and entered the workforce after leaving college at the age of 18. It was not until he was made redundant in his position as Marketing & Memberships Manager at David Lloyd Leisure, a UK leisure and hospitality company, that he decided to pursue a professional qualification to bolster his industry experience.

After spending 2007 completing an Advanced Diploma of Business Management at Williams Business College in North Sydney, he then sought to gain entry into a postgraduate course and CQUniversity provided the right opportunity.

Malcolm pursued an onerous study schedule. During his first year of study he sacrificed paid employment in order to concentrate on his studies. Some mornings he would rise at 6am to complete an assignment or work through to 2am to satisfy his own exacting standards. While Malcolm poured over the books his wife went to work to bring in much needed income.

"Returning to study after a period of 18 years was the biggest challenge", he says. "I have learned to be disciplined and focused and the results have paid off. I have never studied in such an intense environment and managing my time to complete assignments and study for exams was also a big challenge".

The multicultural class mates he met at CQUniversity proved to be a source of inspiration and admiration. Malcolm found he was able to "learn and understand a great deal about people from many different cultures and backgrounds, much more than I ever did in the UK". Likewise he appreciated the opportunity to attend lectures delivered by teachers from different cultures and countries and to learn from their vast business experience, gleaned from all around the globe.

"I have learnt that Australia is very multicultural and that the country thrives on accepting people from all around the world," he says. During his time at Sydney campus he made good friends with fellow students Kuan-Lung Arthur Chu, Roberta Utuni Facuri and Martin Orsulak, as well as others from many different countries. His enthusiasm for helping his fellow students was truly appreciated and he was told that he would make a great mentor.

Outside his study regime Malcolm finds time to follow the ‘footy' - being an exiled Luton Town FC supporter he makes do with watching Sydney FC, attending concerts and exploring the countryside with his wife and friends. He also enjoys spending as much time as possible with his 1-year-old nephew Stirling and reading about Australian history, discovering the colourful past.