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Rewarding Pathway:
It is an honour to be given this opportunity to share with you some aspects of my journey of studying TVET Accounting with OTEN. I was a Year 12 student last year at Penrith High School. OTEN provided me with a rewarding two-year pathway of study from which I continue to reap the benefits.
Bewilderment to Motivation:
I remember trying to choose subjects in Year 10 for the HSC and being bewildered by all the choices that needed to be made. There were subjects from many diverse disciplines, ranging from the sciences to languages at the other end of the spectrum. Then on one fateful day it all started when I was directed to information about OTEN’s TVET Accounting course. I realised that one of the best things about the Accounting program was that the content was very different from that of all of the school-based subjects on offer. At first I was a little unsure as to my ability to learn by distance education, given that I had never studied that way previously. However, the nearest TAFE college offering the course was at a fair distance from both my school and home, and this meant that studying through OTEN would be the most convenient arrangement. The Accounting course is unique in that the majority of HSC marks arise from work done in Year 11 and the main exam is also out of the way by the end of Year 11. This meant that there was a great deal less stress in Year 12 and this element of the course also became a key convincing factor motivating me to step out of my comfort zone and pursue study of Accounting through OTEN.
Ripping Excitement:
One day early into Year 11, I remember excitedly ripping open a package I’d received in the mail thinking it was something I had ordered from Amazon. Out popped an accounting textbook instead, and that there was the first of many things to arrive in the mail from the accounting department. It was also around this time that I was introduced to the Online Learning Support website; little did I know how helpful it would turn out to be.
Help at Hand:
I had regular chats with the friendly automated voice from the OTEN helpdesk; he became my best friend. When I was confused by concepts, the TVET teachers didn’t seem to mind being bothered by my never-ending questions. At the beginning I must admit it felt very strange to be working through activities and exercises with no physical class or face-to-face teaching. As I became more comfortable with the notion however, I realised it gave me the opportunity to study when and where I wished, and that then meant I could fit my study around extracurricular commitments more easily. I was the only one from my year group who was studying a course through OTEN, and my friends were rather envious of me when it came to the first major exam because it was open-book. Even when my exams weren’t open book, I could choose the TAFE college at which I would sit the exams which was quite convenient.
Offers Came In:
During Year 12 I was very unsure of what I wanted to pursue after high school and I decided to investigate a vast range of university degrees. I had enjoyed many aspects of the TVET accounting course so I applied for and received offers for all three accounting cadetships of the big accounting firms for which I had applied. It was a good feeling being able to surprise and impress the partners who were interviewing me with the fact that I had already begun study of some fundamental accounting concepts. The way that TVET Accounting had acted as a stepping stone was an added bonus to doing the course which I hadn’t realised at the time of choosing subjects.
Excellence Awards:
During the latter half of Year 12, I received the Regional Education Director’s award and the Education Minister’s award for excellence in student achievement, both of which recognised among other things my extracurricular involvements. I also graduated with an ATAR of 99.95, with the accounting course contributing one fifth of my ATAR score. I remain convinced that the TVET accounting course played a significant role in these successes, particularly because of the way that a large proportion of assessment is taken in Year 11, reducing stress and freeing up some time for other commitments in the final year of high school.
Studying Medicine:
Up until the end of last year I had not decided on which university degree to study. At long last I decided to decline the offers for accounting cadetships and instead I opted to study medicine, which I am now doing at the University of New South Wales. As a medical practitioner in the future if I were to one day be working in a private clinic, I am sure that I will be able to build on the accounting skills that I acquired through the TVET course in order to manage many financial aspects of a clinic. In particular, I found that my training in the use of MYOB accounting software had many practical applications and immense usefulness for the future. Another major benefit of studying Accounting through OTEN was that I became somewhat accustomed to managing my own learning and setting learning goals, which has definitely helped with my adjustment to the university teaching environment.
Thanks:
This journey that I undertook had some great navigators, and I’d like to genuinely thank the OTEN accounting staff who really did make my study of the course feel worthwhile and supported, and I would particularly like to thank my TVET teacher Penny Bowden. With such a positive experience I look forward to perhaps rejoining the OTEN student ranks one day for some other course. And of course, I would like to congratulate my fellow award recipients here tonight for their achievements.
