Life has provided Rockhampton's Lisa Elliston with many heartaches and challenges, but her resilience has enabled her to come out stronger and in control.

Having lost her mother when she was very young and growing up with an unsupportive father, the 26-year-old said her childhood was not conducive to learning.

STEPS helps Lisa Elliston gain her confidence to become a school teacher."I was kicked out of home at 15 and lived with many different people from an early age. I had a bad attitude and I didn't finish school," explained Lisa, who once remembered saying, ‘who needs an education'.

After a number of casual jobs, at the age of 20, Lisa got her first ‘real' job in the mining industry in NSW and later moved back to Queensland to work as a receptionist at a motel.

"After two years I realised that I had more potential than just checking guests in and out. I used google and found the STEPS program and with the support from my husband and his family and my Aunty Janyce I completed the program."

STEPS is a CQUniversity program designed for Australian or New Zealand citizens (or those who hold permanent resident or humanitarian visas) who wish to attend university but may not have the necessary qualifications or skills to do so. It provides adult learners with the necessary skills and confidence necessary to embark on tertiary study.

"I am now successfully enrolled in the Bachelor of Learning Management (Early Childhood) [at CQUniversity] ... I have always dreamt about becoming a primary school teacher."

Lisa attributes her new found confidence and zest for life to the STEPS program and CQUniversity's dedicated teaching and support staff.

"I would never have had the confidence and knowledge that I now possess if it wasn't for the STEPS program and the encouraging and friendly staff at the Rockhampton campus."