Monday, 24 September, 2018.
Dubbo boy Dylan Hill was drafted into representative
rugby league when he was 14. This opened a pathway
to play professionally with NRL teams Cronulla Sharks
and Manly Sea Eagles. A career in the top leagues
awaited him.
Despite his talent and enthusiasm, repeated serious
injuries meant that Dylan’s promising NRL career was
over as quickly as it started. “It was a really tough time,
I came home to Dubbo and didn’t know what I was
going to do,” Dylan said.
It was around this time that Dylan’s friends told him
about Transition to Uni, a new program being piloted
at Dubbo’s Western College.
“I spoke with Anne and the Transition to Uni team
about my career options and what my passions were.
I have always been interested in teaching; as a teacher
you can be a positive influence on young people and
hopefully help them make good choices,” Dylan said.
The Transition to Uni program is designed to
assist young people from a low-socioeconomic
background access university education, and help
them overcome the common barriers to success
faced by people in regional communities.
“Our program has been designed to help young
adults who, for various socioeconomic and
home situational reasons, haven’t pursued tertiary
education. This is despite them having the literacy
and numeracy skills needed to succeed,” Transition to
Uni Program Director, Anne Shortis said.
“We help the students identify their career goals and
then match them with a university course. We provide
support throughout the university enrolment process
and then offer full mentoring during those first few
assessments.
“We’re about making sure that we’re not setting the
students up for failure. Once the first few assignments
are completed, we offer a weekly drop-in centre to help
mentor students for the remainder of their first year”,
Anne said.
“After my chat with Anne, I was motivated to enrol
at university and I haven’t looked back,” Dylan said.
Dylan enrolled in a Bachelor of Education degree
and the Transition to Uni program supported him
during his first year of study. He particularly sought
assistance with essay writing, referencing, and
providing guidance on how to prepare for exams.
Anne said that the program had given participants
confidence to know that they can achieve.“The
confidence the students have gained from participating
in this program has been really good for them.
“Two students have already secured a better job than
they had before, a direct result of the confidence and
skills they’ve gained by participating in this program,”
Anne said.
Dylan credits the support he received from the
Transition to Uni program and his mentor for helping
him successfully progress through his degree.
“The ongoing mentoring and tutoring I’ve received
has been a massive help. I wouldn’t be this far in my
degree if it hadn’t been for this support,” said Dylan.
Looking into the future, Dylan is focussed on
paying it forward and mentoring the youth in his
local community.
“It’s my goal to teach locally. I want to be a mentor
for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
Coming from a community like Dubbo and with
my Indigenous background, I want to show the
community that you can go to university, you can get
a degree, and you can set an example for the young
ones,” Dylan said.
“This program has met its original intention of giving
those from a low-socioeconomic background an
opportunity. It’s also given Dubbo a lot of young
people with qualifications that are going to benefit
the community in the long term,” Anne said.