I’m Jordan James and I’m a USQ student.

I came to university straight from school so I’m coming from year 12 and it’s a bit of a step up from there.

There’s a heap of responsibility but at the same time, I have a lot of freedom which is good. I was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Principals recommendation scholarship so it’s a lot to say! (laughs) A lady rang me up saying congratulations you’ve been awarded this scholarship and I was with a group of friends at the time and they were like oh, can’t wait to see your mum’s face and stuff so yeah, when I got home I told mum and she was like, ‘you’re joking aren’t you'?

Thursdays are they days which are better for study for me because I’m home alone in the mornings so I’ve got a bit of time to catch up and revise my notes just before the lecture.

Then I got to uni, and then later go to work and then I’m home for dinner- hopefully something nice is cooking! Being a first year I guess that what it’s all about, finding a balance and adjusting to the new lifestyle.

What’s working for me at the moment is university and study during the day and a bit on weekends, and during the other times just working to earn a bit of money so I can have a bit more of a social life.

Family is important as well, I try and see them when I can, I should probably spend a bit more time hanging out with them, they are providing me with a roof over my head and food on the table so they’re very good and supportive of me and I’m blessed to have them.

So far I’ve been at USQ Springfield campus for just over four weeks now and yeah it feels right for me it feels like this is the university I belong to. It’s a very inviting campus I think, the culture here is really good and it’s easy to make new friends and people.

You can get to know your lecturers, the staff are really friendly the SRO’s are really helpful, the Student Relationship Officers, sorry we’re used to that abbreviation now! They’re handy because if you need help with anything you can go and talk to them, yeah they’re definitely good friends to make. I could have had the epiphany that I don’t have to be here, I can go when I want, it’s all up to me I guess.

At school you’re forced to be there, whereas here, I want to be here to learn, so I think that’s a more positive environment.