First Nations Telegraph

Dubbo and Orana kids check out uni life

[supplied by Charles Sturt Uni]

 Image: supplied

More than 100 Year 6 students from primary schools within the Dubbo and Orana region became honorary university graduates overnight when they attended Charles Sturt University’s ‘Check it Out! Day’.

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This is the eighth year the event has been hosted at the Charles Sturt University Dubbo campus, presented by Future Moves, giving senior primary school students hands-on insight into university life and all it entails.

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Schools in attendance at Check it Out! Day this year included Dubbo West Public School, Yeoval Central School, Trangie Central School, Coonamble Public School and Peak Hill Central School.

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Students participated in workshop sessions across a range of disciplines offered at the university, campus tours of residences, a ‘question and answer’ session with the Future Moves team and a mock graduation ceremony.

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Future Moves Program Coordinator for the Central West region Mr Tom Griffiths said Check it Out! Day is a great opportunity for the next generation of leaders to get a taste of what university life offers.

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“Check it Out! Day gives our young people a chance to walk in the shoes of a university student for a day,” he said.

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“It gives them a glimpse of a course they may be considering, along with seeing first-hand what campus living could be like and experiencing that euphoric feeling of finally graduating at the end of it all.”

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Students were able to attend workshop sessions in social work, nursing, theatre/arts, computer science/robotics and physical education teaching.

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Mr Griffiths said the robotics and social work sessions were among the most popular, but the biggest hit was the mock graduation ceremony.

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“Students love putting on a gown and the graduation hat to participate in our mock graduation ceremonies,” Mr Griffiths said.

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“The aura surrounding university graduation is something that older generations seem to pass down to the younger ones as they go through school, so when kids get a taste of what becoming a university graduate one day might feel like - they love it.

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“That’s why Check it Out! Day is so popular each year. It gives primary school students a hands-on insight into the pathways university can offer as many don’t have anyone they can direct questions about university to.

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“Our team builds confidence by breaking down barriers around university study.”

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Each year Check it Out! Day receives positive feedback from students in attendance.

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A student from Dubbo West Public School said, ‘I really want to come to this uni because it’s so close and it’s so cool!”   

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Mr Griffiths said one of the Future Moves convenors of this years’ workshops, Kiara Bennett, was also a student within the Charles Sturt School of Information and Communication Studies.

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“Kiara was completing her internship hours with us, and was excited to get an opportunity to work with young people before going into the workforce,” he said.