Deciding what to study once you graduate from high school is a tough decision. Then, choosing an institution is even more daunting. Do I choose the one that’s closer to home? Do I go to the one where my friends are going? Do I pick the one that is more picturesque? The questions are endless.
2017 was my first year out of school; I had made the decision to go to UTS and study a double degree of Sport and Exercise Science and International Studies. I had made the decision of what I wanted to study, and I had hurdled through choosing where. However, about midway through my second trimester, I had a gut feeling that I wasn’t heading down the right path. I wasn’t confident that this degree was for me and I was devastated. I thought that I would be in and out of uni within a couple of years, without chopping and changing degrees mid-way through.
After my second trimester, I took some time off, talking to friends and family about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. One of the people I spoke to was my netball coach and former PDHPE teacher at school. She knew that I had loved PDHPE all throughout school, she saw that sport was something that I really enjoyed too, and she knew that I loved to talk! She suggested that I consider becoming a PDHPE teacher. At first, I wasn’t 100% sure if being cooped up in a classroom and reliving all those dreaded high school memories were for me. However, I decided to do some research and go from there.
My old PDHPE teacher went to ACPE and she told me how much she had enjoyed her time there, it wasn’t too far from home, the campus was in a really beautiful location and the classes were a lot smaller than the standard university. It seemed to be ticking all of my boxes. So, I jumped onto trusty Google and had a look at ACPE’s Bachelor of Education. I enquired online about commencing my study at the beginning in 2018.
Within 24 hrs, I had an email from one of ACPE’s Student Enrolment Advisors, asking if I would like to come into the campus and have a look around, and if they could answer any of my questions. This was so different to my enrolment at UTS: no one from student enrolment contacted me and no one was wanting to meet with me to see if I had any questions! Already I felt seen and genuinely cared for.
The following week on a Monday morning, bright and early at 9:00am I met with a Student Enrolment Advisor and toured the campus. He was super open to any question I had about the course, about student life and the ins and outs of ACPE. I was so relieved, and I knew that ACPE was the place for me. I sent him through my HSC results and by the end of the month, I had received and signed my offer to study a Bachelor of Education (Health and Physical Education), commencing in March 2018.
Still to this day, the student services and enrolment team are willing to answer any questions I have and continue to support me and my studies at ACPE. I am so glad that I made the switch to ACPE and pursued my dream of becoming a PDHPE teacher.
Written by ACPE Bachelor of Education (Physical and Health Education) Student, Jen Healey.
