Nathan is currently studying a Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement and Health Studies) at UniSA. “I spend my time mainly at the City East campus but also spend a bit of time at Mawson Lakes,” says Nathan. “My current course is completed over three years and involves a variety of subjects that range from Anatomy to Group Dynamics. Typically, there are between twelve and fifteen contact hours per week which include lectures, workshops, practicals and tutorials. Tutes and lectures focus on the theory side of the different subjects while workshops and practicals focus on the application of the theory. The practicals have seen me cutting up cadavers while the workshops have allowed us to learn how to teach sports like table tennis and ultimate frisbee whilst getting to play them as well. We just went on a four day wilderness camp where we had to sleep in tents and it rained the whole time!
“Initially I found it was very easy to get lost at uni with the surroundings being so new and unfamiliar. However, after nearly a year I am beginning to know where everything is. This is all part of the transition process, similar I guess to starting school as a new student or beginning in a new work place. I did have a few extra challenges recently when most of the train lines shut down. It meant a few more kilometres were clocked up on the car and more money spent on petrol. But all the little adjustments have been worth it with the course being really enjoyable so far.”
Nathan’s Human Movement course can lead to many different pathways including physiotherapy, podiatry, fitness / gym management and PE teaching. “I am looking to complete a post-graduate Masters of Teaching which takes a year and a half. Once I have completed this I look forward to a career in PE teaching where I can do something that I enjoy that in turn helps others.”
One of the things that Nathan has learnt first-hand is the difference between life as a student at school, and life as a university student. “Uni is completely different to school life. Firstly, information is not spoon-fed to you, you have to work for it, which means that you have no option but to be an independent learner. Also, another disadvantage for the less motivated is that unlike school, you don’t have to go to all uni classes. Nobody calls my mum to ask her where I am if I don’t attend. I have found it beneficial to attend all classes due to the complexity of my topics which has increased just as it would at any other year level.
“There are also some real advantages to uni life. These include the fact that you get to choose your timetable, meaning that you can potentially structure a schedule which gives you days off. Also, the social aspect of uni is a lot more relaxed. Due to the busyness of my studies in this first year I have not been able to get too involved in many extra-curricular activities, however there are many opportunities which I may take up over the next few years. I had to work really hard in the first semester to adapt to uni as the expectations are completely different to school.”
Outside of his study, one of Nathan’s passions is umpiring Australian Rules Football. “I began junior footy umpiring as a thirteen year old to earn a little bit of money. Now five years later I am umpiring senior grades in the country. During my first few B grade games I made the mistake of pointing a whinging player to the netball. He told me to go back to the mini-league and since then I don’t sledge players. I umpired my first A grade match in 2010 and umpired thirteen A grades games in 2011. I also umpired the A grade association matches for the central zone at Snowtown in 2011 and the under 17 Two Wells v Balaklava grand final which included some younger St Columba students. I have been out to the SANFL where I experienced a pre-season before deciding that my Year 12 studies were more important. I intend to go back out in the future but at the moment I am happy umpiring in the Adelaide Plains. We train once a week and it is generally a pretty solid session; we are also tested regularly to measure improvement.” If you bumped into Nathan his modesty would preclude him from talking about his abilities as a runner, but his time of 50:43 minutes for the City to Bay in 2009 as a young competitor reflects his talent and competitive streak.
Nathan believes that the leadership opportunities presented to him as a student of the College have helped him deal with many of the challenges he has encountered this year. “As Head Prefect it was challenging and exciting at different stages throughout the year. The experiences I had helped to shape me as a leader and I continue to draw on these experiences today. There were many things that I learnt which included how to be more assertive which is very important at uni (and in life in general) as it enables you to be heard or given a chance. It also became increasingly obvious to me that unless led in the right direction, a group may be unable to achieve what they set out to achieve. To be understanding of how everyone is feeling was extremely important at school (especially in Year 12) and is another example of a skill I can now take into the future. I learnt that it is not easy to eat finger food at the Governor’s house, because if you drop crumbs the only thing you can do is to awkwardly walk away. My experience as Head Prefect also taught me that everyone can be a leader if given the chance which has been vital at uni where groups are a norm and your results can at times depend on how well a group functions, and how it is led. Not only can this be used at uni but in any situation where a leader can spring from the most unlikely of places.”
Nathan still plays a bit of cricket and tennis, as well as helping out with the College’s Youth Group which he enjoys. Football umpiring is his first line of work, however he is looking forward to working this summer laying artificial turf when uni finishes. He still maintains a number of close connections with other old scholars. He attends university with Ryan Oldnall, a previous Head Prefect who had a gap year in 2010 which put them in the same course at the same time. He is gym buddies with Bob Thorpe and Emma Windebank as well as maintaining a few other friendships. Nathan is looking forward to next year where he plans to go and stay in Darwin with his family. His aunty and uncle are about to take charge of looking after a boarding house of indigenous children whom he is told really enjoy football. They have asked Nathan to come and umpire a few games. It may be a little out of his comfort zone but it is something he is looking forward to as a new experience.
|