20 Features
“FROM DAY ONE
AT USQ, I FELT
LIKE I MATTERED
AND PEOPLE
REALLY CARED.”
The year 2012 was
a turning point for
Jackie Rogers.
Having endured nearly half a decade
in a violent relationship, Jackie
emerged a survivor, albeit bearing
scars to her self-esteem that would
take considerable time to overcome.
‘I’d gone through five years of being
told I couldn’t do anything right,
that I wasn’t good enough, so to say
where my confidence levels were at
that point in my life... it’s fair to say I
had none’.
A now single parent to three
daughters, Jackie knew the fate of
her family rested upon her shoulders
and made a chance decision to
stop by the reception desk at USQ
Springfield. Having not set foot in
a learning environment in over 20
years, USQ’s free Tertiary Preparation
Program was the opportunity that
finally spurred Jackie to take a chance
on herself. It was also a step toward
her dream of lifting others out of
adversity through a career in human
services. ‘I still didn’t believe that I’d
actually be able to do it, so knowing
that the program wouldn’t cost me
anything meant it wasn’t such a big
risk and I could just give it a go and
see what happened.’
It was this one choice that began
a series of small, but infinitely
significant changes that would
see Jackie gradually evolve into
a confident mother and business
professional. Taking her first tentative
steps outside her comfort zone and
into the classroom, Jackie was joined
by the familiar fears and self-doubt
that had plagued her for such a
large portion of her adult life. ‘I was
getting Bs and As but still feeling like
I wasn’t doing well. My friends and
lecturers really picked me up and
were the reflection I needed at times
to see myself clearly, to see that I was
being too hard on myself’.
Buoyed by praise and encouragement
from those around her, the
knowledge Jackie gained through
study began to develop into a sense
of self-belief, allowing her to make
further decisions to shape her future.
Inspired by an in-class presentation
from Drug Arm Australas