Hi I’m Rebecca Natalia and I’m a nursing student at USQ.

I’m a mother that’s a nurse; I’ve got a grandmother who used to be a nurse- she’s retired now. I’ve also got an aunty who’s a nurse as well so yeah it runs in the family.

After school, I applied for nursing and soon after I found out I was pregnant so it was a big surprise but it was exciting as well.

So I had the baby, then I had another one, another girl, so I thought to be a mum I should take some time off and just raise the girls for a little while and then I decided to go back to uni and its my last year this year and I’m just finishing it off now. With another little one that came along.

Yeah, its been pretty full on the last few years, its great having the support of my husband and family and friends. The university is very accommodating too they understand you have children and they can help out whenever they can. Yeah, there’s always someone to talk to.
USQ online has a forum where you can ask questions and get answers from the lecturers and you can get help and support from the forums as well.

You can also chat and talk about your experiences. Whenever I’m stuck on assignments or have questions about it I always go to the forums and normally there’s other people there asking the same questions and I get the answers I need.

There’s a lot of families out there as well, a lot of mothers with children going through the same thing I’m going through so its good to have their support and to encourage others students that are going through the same things as well.

I think about my family when I’m doing uni and I think of the girls and try to be a good role model for them and show the girls you’ve got to get in there and do it and you don’t give up, just do what you have to do.

Yeah, it has changed me, I’m better organised, more determined- its really improved my self esteem, I can really feel the achievement of getting good grades and you’re completing something as well.

Rebecca’s husband:

She’s pushed herself for about the last 6 years, so it’s good to her get there and get to that goal at the end. Pretty hard with 3 kids so she’s worked her butt off! So I’m really proud of her. She’s been able to handle kids, then working part- time then doing prac and doing uni and then handling me on top of that! (laughs)

Rebecca:

It would be great to get a job in a hospital and work in a children’s ward is where I’m passionate about and having that and working part time so I can still run a family and work and do all the things the girls need me to do and earn some money as well!