The Start of a New Term at Uni

Today a new trimester begins.

It’s my third and final trimester of the Graduate Diploma of Counselling at Torrens University, and I’m genuinely excited about it. I didn’t expect to be saying that at this stage of life, forty years after I was last an undergraduate in a completely different field.

I’ve loved being a full-time student. I’ve had the space to think properly, to write carefully, to learn, and to be assessed and stretched. I’m also proud that so far I’ve achieved Distinctions and High Distinctions.

After decades in corporate IT, stepping away for a year to study has been financially crazy but also deeply satisfying. I’m slightly amused that I’ve only just perfected my study systems in the final trimester, but I’ll take that win.

After this term, I graduate and move from student to Registered Counsellor. I’ve trained in many coaching, therapeutic and health modalities over the years. They’ve been interesting and valuable. But none of them gave me entry into the professional counselling associations such as ACA or PACFA. This does, and I want that legitimacy.

There’s also a financial reality running alongside the excitement. I’ve been gratefully receiving Austudy this year, although it doesn’t even cover the rent. The rest has come from savings. At the end of this term, that buffer disappears. No more Austudy. No more year of relative safety. From here, it’s up to me to build the practice and make it work.

For a long time I trained while staying safely inside well-paid IT roles. There was always another course to do, another certification to add, and that required money and stability. This feels different. This is me stepping out properly, and that’s exciting.

Looking forward to another trimester of study in my late fifties wasn’t on my original life plan, but here we are.

Final trimester.

Bring it on.