I studied a Bachelor of Science at Deakin from 1981 to 1983. I recall that one of the lab practice classes started early, at 8am. I was a diligent student and always arrived about 15 mins early. This is one of those stories of forgetting to turn my clock back one hour, at the end of daylight saving.
I thought I’d arrived on time, but the corridor was empty and the rooms were locked. This is before mobile phones and portable computers, so I wasn’t able to verify the time. I was actually there before 7am and unbeknown to me, 7am was when the building’s fire alarm was tested. The alarm was sudden, unexpected and incredibly loud. I just about jumped out of my skin and I recall being quite shaken. I was there on my own and didn’t know what to do. I learned a valuable lesson about daylight saving time.
Despite that experience, the degree from Deakin undoubtedly transformed my life. I came from a very ordinary working-class family and of my five siblings and 18 cousins, I was the first to go to university. The young Deakin University (Waurn Ponds) was only 20 minutes from home by bicycle, and there were no fees. Without that I would not have had access to a tertiary education.
