Features 17
When Lisa decided to begin her
studies after her place of work closed
down, she was judged, questioned
and made to feel insecure.
Some of her extended family even called her a ‘fool‘.
Why?
Because of her age.
This meant that, in addition to the usual fears people
experience before they start university, Lisa had now been
made to worry that she wouldn‘t be able to cope with the
study load, that she wasn‘t intelligent enough to study at a
uni level, and that, as a mature age student, she would
be older than her classmates and might struggle with
the material.
‘There‘s a stereotype of older people, that they are
slow, unable to use technology and aren‘t smart, and
I‘ve experienced discrimination based on these types of
stereotypes both at uni and when looking for work.
Lisa remembers vividly one occurrence when she was told
by a younger classmate that
‘everyone older than 45 should be
forced to stop working‘ because
older people were stealing young
people‘s jobs.
'I knew I could do it,
but nobody (except
my immediate family)
would believe me'.
Another example was when,
‘after passing several phone
interviews and online quizzes,
a potential employer was very
enthusiastic about having me
come in for an interview. When
I actually went into the office to
meet her, though, she looked
me up and down and said ‘What did someone your age
bother going to uni for?‘ All she could see was my age‘.
Rather than letting the negativity and short sightedness of
family, classmates and potential employers discourage her
from pursuing her dreams, Lisa let their doubts fuel her
desire not only to graduate, but to be a high achiever and
prove the naysayers wrong.
‘It was like they wanted me to curl up in a ball and just give
up on my goals, and I wasn‘t going to do that‘.
Throughout her degree, Lisa has also had to cope with a
number of challenging and unpredictable circumstances that
tested her ability to stay focused and motivated while under
enormous stress.