[Ntu-media-releases] media release - Different backgrounds lead to same path

[robert boskovski]

Different backgrounds lead to same path

As students, Jodie Watson and Ben Novak come from two different worlds,
but the one thing they have in common is a passion for pharmacy work and
the fact that they are both the recipients of scholarships.

Jodie is a mature age student, studying pharmacy after working in the
field for a number of years. Ben is straight out of school and entered
the pharmacy course at the Northern Territory University after a local
pharmacist stirred his interest in the subject.

Jodie moved to Darwin from Sydney this year to continue her career path.
As a pharmacy technician, Jodie was constantly being encouraged by those
she worked with to take the next step and complete a pharmacy degree.

“I’ve taken up everyone’s suggestion and taken the next step but the
thing is that they have now lost me to the NT,” Jodie said.

The mature age student was attracted to Darwin, not only because it
offered her greater study opportunities with a scholarship, but because
it also offered her partner opportunities to further his career.

Jodie said she had found the NTU “quite relaxed” which she considered a
plus when returning to study. However, while she believed she found
studying easier as a mature age student – greater motivation and desire
to achieve, she also considers it more difficult in the sense that she
has more personal responsibilities outside of university life.

As a school leaver, Ben moved from Katherine to Darwin to begin his
pharmacy career after developing an interest in the field in Year 10.

Ben said the advantage of a scholarship was that it allowed him to buy
textbooks rather than borrowing them and it also assisted with his
living expenses. He said he was enjoying being at the NTU, with the
location of the Casuarina Campus and the general laid back lifestyle of
Darwin influencing factors.

Both Jodie and Ben will complete their first year of the Bachelor of
Pharmacy, a feeder course to other institutions this year. Jodie would
like to continue her studies in Perth, while Ben hopes to move to
Townsville.

ends.
24 September, 2002

See attachment for photo
CAPTION:  Ben Novak and Jodie Watson working together in a lab at the
Northern Territory University.

Photos of Jodie & Ben can be supplied upon request.

For further information contact:
Jane Coates
Media Liaison
Northern Territory University
(08) 8946 6019  or  0438 466 439


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