My name is Erin, I’m 29 and I live on a small farm just east of Armidale with my partner Mitch, our maremma Stella and whole range of other animals – mostly of the feathered variety. Born and raised in Coffs Harbour I came to UNE initially in 2008 where I lived at Earle Page College for 3 years while I completed my Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Business. My sister had come to UNE before me and I loved hearing her stories of college life so much that I had to give it a go myself. I liked Armidale a lot and through a few different employment opportunities I was able to stay after I finished my undergraduate degree and really make a home here. In 2016, I was looking to enhance my learning HR practice so I commenced the Master of Strategic Organisational Development and Human Resource Management. I chose to study at UNE again because they offered a Master’s program specific to my field where elsewhere I would have had to study an MBA with a HR major. From my previous experiences at UNE I knew what I was getting myself into and that it would be a high quality, supportive learning experience.

My experience studying at UNE has been overwhelmingly positive – so much so that I now work at UNE too! Through my study I was supported by some of the most intelligent and inspiring people I’ve ever met – particularly some amazing, strong women who have always supported and encouraged my search for knowledge. I’ve had two very different study experiences at UNE – one on campus, attending face to face classes during my undergrad  – and one online experience during my postgrad which was very much self-directed but I always knew the help and support was there if I needed it.

Graduating with a Masters is something I always knew I wanted to do, but didn’t know if I ever could or would.

I made the decision to attempt it early in life for a number of reasons but mostly because you never know what life is going to throw at you and I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my completion. I was very lucky that with only a few minor interruptions, I was able to put my head down and complete the postgrad study. There was always comfort in the fact that if any significant interruptions had come up, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Graduating is a huge achievement because when you’re juggling all of life’s other challenges, furthering your education can easily get pushed to the bottom of the pile. But it didn’t, and now I’m finished!!

My plans from graduation onwards are far from concrete. At the moment I am just enjoying reading for pleasure again and implementing the things that I have learned into my daily practice. I’m not sure that this will be the end of my formal study but I’m certainly happy to think on it for a while – quite a while!

I plan on continuing to read and research as a means of continuous improvement and becoming a better HR practitioner day by day. I’m looking forward to having more time to spend with my friends and family again, doing the things I love.