Student stories

Born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, Ellie spent her childhood helping her parents manage their retail store. Ellie chose to study an MBA as she wanted to learn key business skills and surround herself with like-minded individuals.

Raised in the regional Northern Territory town of Katherine, proud Jagalingou and Bandjin woman Sekari Butler discovered a passion for law and advocacy by chance.

Mohammad dreams of developing disaster-resilient communities in Indonesia, so  he began his search for a Higher Degree by Research and was granted an Australia Awards Scholarship. His research could make a big impact on small islands threatened by a host of natural disasters.

Before being crowned Apprentice of the Year, Mary was working in retail. Her craving for a combination of academics and hands-on skills would lead her to start an electrical apprenticeship through an all-female training program. That bright spark of an idea would soon become a dream career!

While studying the Australian education system, Vaninder realised her dream: to become a special education teacher. She aspires to return to India and open a special education school, free to those who need it. There’s nothing that will stop her from reaching her goal. 

Despite previously studying business, Ngoc found herself interested in pursuing a career in teaching. She began looking for a flexible degree that would allow her to become a teacher in Australia.

Winning not one but two scholarships has changed the course of Matt’s career. After working as an electrician for 10 years and seeing the projects and positions that would be available to him if he pursued further study, Matt took the plunge to become a mature age engineering student.

Darwin local Hajrah knew she would study at CDU once she finished Year 12, but the specifics took a little longer to figure out. Wanting to stay close to her family and Darwin’s multicultural community, she now has big dreams to use her new-found skills for the benefit of more vulnerable communities in the Territory.

Passionate about gender equity in STEM fields and youth engagement, Alina is using her love of science to promote positive change in the Northern Territory. This Katherine local chose CDU to support her goals, and has been paying it forward to support other students and women in science ever since.