Relevant and hands on learning inspired this Environment Masters Student

Yvette Douglas never dreamed of going to university, never mind being an aspiring PhD student. 

She lived most of her life in Northern Queensland and thought she would end up working on the land or at the local sugar mill, however, she didn’t feel fulfilled whilst working in the heavy mechanical industry.  

While looking at her other study options she realised that she needed a university that offered flexible learning as she still had to work to support herself. Having left school at 15, she found that at first university was a challenge. Studying was a steep learning curve and she had to learn new habits, fueled by passion in her science units, and began to enjoy study.

“I honestly never thought about going to university, but once I finally found units that interested me, I realised I really enjoyed learning,” Mrs Douglas said. 

After moving to Nhulunbuy and securing a position as a purchasing officer with mining company Rio Tinto Gove, she was drawn to connect with her undergrad environmental degree. With support from her manager, she moved into an entry level environment role at Rio Tinto Gove. To develop her knowledge and update her skills, she enrolled in a Master of Environmental Management through a university in NSW. Around the same time a work colleague mentioned their journey with Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) and suggested Yvette consider the CDU Master of Environmental Management. 

Having spent most of her life in Northern Australia this course seemed most relevant to her interests, work and everyday life.

“I remember going through the list and seeing units on Fire ecology and rehabilitation in Northern Australia and I thought that is what I need if I want to progress in my new role. I didn’t want to cover the same subjects I had in my undergraduate degree and could see that I could apply these units directly to my work,” Mrs Douglas said.

She switched her master’s to CDU, which she says was one of the best decisions she has made in her tertiary education journey. 

“It’s’ been amazing, not only are the subjects more aligned to the work that I am already doing, but the courses also make sense for an Australian context and climate, especially Northern Australia,” she said. 

Mrs Douglas said that her student experience at CDU has been exceptional and has improved her skills not only for her course work but for her job as well.

“One of my first subjects at CDU included a session from the student success program. They walked us through how to interpret and plan essays. These were skills that I thought I had covered from my undergraduate degree; however, their simple tips and guidance on how to approach essay tasks, dramatically improved my academic and professional writing skills,” she said. 

Another highlight for Mrs Douglas was the Environmental Field intensive, she said spending time with her lecturers and experts in the field learning hands on approaches was invaluable and inspiring.

“Getting to spend time on Country with my lecturers, learning from them firsthand, they are not only incredibly knowledgeable but also so passionate about their work, their passion was contagious.” 

Yvette recently completed an independent research project for the Master of Environmental Management, selecting a topic that might break new ground in the mining industry, which could present a new approach to using nature-based solutions for water treatment.

Mrs Douglas has found that through determination and hard work she managed to complete her Master’s this year and was the recipient of the SLR Consulting Australia Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in Master of Environmental Management. 

She is now working with her supervisors to develop a research project and hopes to complete her PhD through CDU.

“Sometimes the journey isn’t linear, but if you work hard, you can still have the career you want.”