 I was doing well in the career, I was a sales consultant, I reached a stage in my life where I felt I needed to advance myself and go forward. After 20 years of being away, I needed to know that I was able to meet the criteria and be confident that I could handle university studies. I studied Newstart because as a teenager I struggled with mental illness and I was unable to finish high school. I came from a small town where everybody knew my mental health background so it was always sort of like they tiptoed around me. Newstart gave me the opportunity to experience university life when I didn't feel prepared at all for it. I enrolled into university degree specialising in nursing but it wasn't suitable for me. I was recommended by my friend to university preparation course in University of Auckland so I started Newstart. I finished school when I was 16 and couldn't get into university without doing a pre-start course so I decided to go with Newstart. Once you're over 20, it's a good programme to start with. I studied Newstart General in Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy which led me to study in my Bachelor of Social Work. In Newstart General I did English and Sociology and I think it was history. How they structured it was in a way where I could see for myself where I had to work on. I studied the Enjoying Mathematics Short Maths course in Newstart General. I did Enjoying Mathematics because I hadn't done maths at high school and maths was never something I enjoyed but I felt like it was something that I would probably need at some point. I studied Newstart General and after I completed that I studied a Bachelor of Arts and Specialised in Geography for my first semester. Once I'd finished that I transitioned into a Bachelor of Science. Prepared me for writing essays, referencing all sorts of things, time management that you really need for university. It really gave me the confidence to actually get stuck into university. Communication skills, writing skills, writing essays and reports, just being able to academically understand things as well. To teach you the resources gave me insight but the best part was it gave me a teach in gaining time management skills as well. Handling my assessments, my essays, how to do a reference. In terms of reading it's not about reading the whole textbook, it's about highlighting the key points and making it meaningful to you. I was actually doing Anthropology in Newstart that opened me up to actually doing a double major in Anthropology and Ancient History. The teachers inspired me in interest in Sociology and Psychology therefore I chose Social Work Degree. A Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Sociology, I went into a Bachelor of Arts because I found I could do a range of different subjects. I transitioned into a Bachelor of Science, I did my Honours in Earth Science and I'm currently doing my Masters in Earth Science, doing marine geology. The fact that I was surrounded in a younger environment gave me that sort of extra push to keep going you know because there are obstacles that just get thrown at you. Maths was a big challenge, not finishing school didn't help with that but having friends along the way has really helped and doing Stage 1 papers in Maths helped as well. Time management was the biggest challenge that I faced especially balancing full time work and studying. The biggest challenge at university has been managing my life like the time wise with my social life, university study and my health issues. I guess the best parts for me at university was the networks that you build, it's not just about the resources and learning. The best parts were meeting people and also with being in Earth Sciences you can go on lots of field trips and spend weeks with your friends that you make as well. Knowing other people who are quite similar situation with me and also learning diverse subjects was the biggest part. Meeting the different people I've got a few people who I went through Newstart with who I'm still friends with today and we meet up every week. Newstart is a good foundation for people who were out of education for a long time. There is really no age limit to pursuing your education, continuing education, going further. It's so helpful you learn all these sorts of things that you really need for university life and it helps to prepare you not only for university but also for life as well. If anyone's considering doing Newstart I'd say just go for it, it's open love doors for me along the way.