Bundaberg's Ilee Sannholm and Emily Martin both left school at Year 11 but success with CQUniversity's STEPS* preparatory program has given them a fresh springboard for the future.

The duo are among 61 Bundaberg STEPS students who will be able to progress to undergraduate degree study, either later this year or early next year.

Proud STEPS graduates Emily Martin and Ilee Sannholm

STEPS coordinator Karen Seary says this marks an achievement for all students, many of whom have come from challenging backgrounds.

After leaving high school, Ilee tried a number of jobs in barwork, childcare and retail but didn't find one that interested her.

Her father utilised workplace health and safety in his job as a signwriter and Ilee saw that this might be an interesting career.  She wanted to help people and had a desire to protect and promote the environment.

STEPS has now given her confidence, focus and self-belief, as well as the chance to study disease control, disaster management and waste management, towards her goal of becoming an environmental health officer.

Emily left school and found employment, but did not get as many hours of work as she hoped for.

STEPS coordinator Karen Seary (lower left) with Bundaberg graduates

She has always wanted to help people and her background with a carer role in her family, and a family contact who was a nurse, gave her the idea of studying nursing.

Emily was shy and nervous in a social setting at first. However, interactions with caring lecturers and dealings with other STEPS students, most of whom are ‘middle-aged' and have been through many of the same problems, have meant that she is now more confident and able to deal comfortably with people in a range of settings.

In the future, Emily hopes to become a surgical nurse and possibly to travel overseas to England and America for work.

She enjoys caring for other people and is comfortable and calm when handling accidents.  She never thought that she could get into university during her school days as she perceived herself to be ‘too dumb'.

Both Emily and Ilee are doing well with their studies and, whilst finding STEPS challenging, they actually enjoy learning as a result. The program has built confidence in their own abilities, taught them new skills and improved their maths/English abilities.

STEPS has helped the duo gain people skills and has been helpful in finding them a worthwhile career option.

Ms Seary said STEPS "treats the girls like adults in a respectful manner, something that they didn't experience at school".

"The girls have learnt a lot from their fellow students who are less judgemental than their peers and are supportive and understanding of other students and their backgrounds," she said.

"The girls would recommend STEPS to anyone who is looking for a career change or pathway; someone who wants to change their life for the better.  Even if you don't go to uni, STEPS still builds confidence and provides a sense of completion. 

"The other mainly mature age students in the program, along with lecturers, act like a supportive family.  Ilee actually convinced her dad to start STEPS as a result of her positive experience!"

Ms Seary said STEPS students should be extremely proud of how they have managed their studies on Bundaberg Campus.

"They came with a desire to change their lives through education and they have conquered the initial challenge to do just that," she said.

"The completion of STEPS as the first stage in their learning journey is a most important one. Through STEPS, these students have had the opportunity to acquire the skills deemed essential to ensure successful transition to the undergraduate program of their choice." 

* STEPS = Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies.

The aim of STEPS is to provide a FREE quality curriculum within a supportive learning environment that fosters in adult learners the personal and academic skills for progression to undergraduate study.

STEPS covers academic communication, mathematics, computing, independent learning skills, study skills and library/information literacy skills.

Traditionally, STEPS empowers students from socially, economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to eliminate the barriers that locate them outside of the tertiary sector. Increasingly however, students are coming from affluent backgrounds as a mature student seeking a tertiary qualification.