Already a University Graduate
July 29, 2009
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St Joseph's Nudgee College Year 12 student Lachlan Johnston graduated from UQ's Enhanced Studies program last week after successfully completing his first university subject.
Lachlan was accepted into the Enhanced Studies program earlier this year and spent part of every Tuesday during Semester 1 at the University of Queensland undertaking the first year Human Movement Studies/Exercise Studies subject Biophysical Foundations of Human Movement.
He was one of only two secondary students to undertake the subject and was the first Nudgee College student to undertake the subject while still at school.
"It was really good," Lachlan said. "University is a lot different to school and I really enjoyed it."
Lachlan received a 5 (a credit level) for the subject, which was above average, and will be able to study one less subject when he begins his course.
Nudgee College teacher Mr Matt Waters was the one who suggested Lachlan consider applying for the program and was proud of what Lachlan had achieved.
"To end up with a 5 for his subject is awesome considering all that Lachlan juggles and the increased complexity of the work covered," he said.
In addition to his Senior studies, Lachlan is also Captain of the Queensland Junior State Squash team and will compete at the National titles in Sydney in September.
UQ's Enhanced Studies Program has been running since 1988 and this year accepted 150 students from thousands of applicants.
The aim of the program is to give high achieving Year 12 students the opportunity to find out what university life is really like by studying an area of interest.
Program participants study one subject during Semester 1 of Year 12 and have full access to the university's staff and facilities.
As a result of successfully completing the subject, Lachlan is now eligible to receive one bonus point towards his university entry rank through UQ's Bonus Rank Scheme. He is also eligible for Vice-Chancellor Scholarships and UQ Sport Student Grants.
Lachlan said he would recommend the Enhanced Studies program to other students although warned it took a lot of juggling.
"I would absolutely recommend the program to others. It helped me realise that this is definitely what I want to do. It took a lot juggling though so anyone considering it needs to make sure they have good time management skills and are fairly sure about what they want to do after they leave school as it is pretty hard at times."
