Your memory wall

I finished my Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences and Humanities with Honours in 1986 alongside Malcolm Crick, Max Charlesworth, Philippa Rothfield and Hazel Rowley. I then got a job lecturing and tutoring at Deakin for a few years, replacing Purushottama Bilimoria while he was on a much-extended stay in the US, also teaching in the inaugural Koorie teacher education program (and learnt much more than I taught, seeing the formation of Tiddas).

My favourite thing was to take my class out onto the grassy embankment and discuss – I was the long-haired barefoot bogan from Tecoma, but in those days Deakin students turned up ready to go.

Some, however had already been around the block. I also did classes in the Flinders Lane Melbourne study centre and some of the mature age students were 40 years my senior, one of them having participated in the battles on the Kokoda Track that we were then reading about in the Imperialism course. Nothing as good as having a participant there to give some character to the readings.

I still have the study guides in a box somewhere for the day I finally get seriously ‘reminsce-y’ and get a break from trying to read the rest of Marx that I started in class back then – and never stopped.

Joining the Deakin Boardriders Club and going to a university so close to Bells Beach was the highlight of my degree. In 1979, the Deakin University Sports Association (now the Deakin University Sport Society) sent me and seven others to the Australian Titles in NSW.

We were fully sponsored and that included motel accommodation, car, fuel and food. Imagine our delight when we saw students from Monash in their own cars, staying in tents! I think there were only about 10–12 members of the boardriders club.

I have been back to Deakin three times now for further qualifications, both online and at the Waurn Ponds Campus that I love so much.

The surf had me in its grip for many years but eventually I needed to escape and have been on Magnetic Island in North Queensland for 20 years. Not much surf inside the Great Barrier Reef but the scuba diving is amazing. It’s funny when you go back to studies and your student number starts with ‘79’ which is the year I started at Deakin – the link is always there.

In the 1990s, I worked at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus as a cataloguer, in the audiovisual section, and as a health liaison librarian. After leaving Deakin in 1997, I spent 10 years living and working in Adelaide, Armidale, and Brisbane, all while completing my library degree, which I earned in 1996. That year, I also had the opportunity to undertake a secondment at Central Queensland University in Rockhampton, which was a highlight of my career.

I returned to Deakin in 2007, joining the Waterfront Campus library as a casual librarian. Over the years, I progressed into temporary liaison roles for Architecture and Building and Health. By 2009, I was a full-time Library Officer, and in 2015, I became a Client Experience Librarian, a position I still hold today.

Throughout my career, I’ve always worked in client-facing roles, assisting staff and students with their information needs, running digital literacy sessions, and managing casual library staff. The friendships I’ve made with colleagues have been one of the most rewarding parts of my journey, with many lasting outside of work through library dinners, outings, and catch-ups!

The library landscape has changed significantly over the years, especially with the shift to digital resources. When I began, the primary information sources were print materials, journals, newspapers, and CD-ROM databases. I’ve also seen the transformation of our library spaces, notably the renovation of the Waterfront library in 2013, which added a vibrancy to the entire campus.

I’ve gained invaluable knowledge and skills during my time at Deakin and hope I’ve been able to help students and staff navigate our diverse library resources.

Wishing Deakin a wonderful 50-year celebration!

I undertook a Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Promotion) between 1995-1997 at what was then the Rusden Campus, located on Blackburn Road in Clayton.

During the 1990s, the Burwood campus went through a massive redevelopment to expand the campus to cater for many more students. Later in the piece, the Rusden Campus closed and courses were transferred to Deakin’s Burwood Campus. My course is still offered today.

I now work at Deakin in my field of study, and absolutely love it. It’s a real privilege to be celebrating Deakin’s 50 years as a former student and staff member.