When South Adelaide Football Club’s senior player Nick Liddle’s not playing senior level football you will find him studying at Flinders University.
Nick Liddle, 27, a mature age student is currently studying a Bachelor of Education (Middle and Secondary Schooling)/Bachelor of Health Sciences (Physical Education) and hopes to become a Physical Education teacher when he graduates.
Nick enjoyed his career as a landscaper and footy player but didn’t think university was for him.
‘I didn’t know much about university or have an interest in it and it was only through the partnership the Club has with Flinders, and meeting various Flinders students and staff that I was inspired to start looking into university as a real option for me.’
Nick started looking into the various pathways available as a mature age entry student and decided to apply via the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) which is a series of tests designed to assess competencies considered important for success in tertiary study.
Sitting the STAT test while a bit daunting was great, as I was able to apply for Flinders Bachelor of Education/Health Sciences degree using my test results.
Being a ‘mature age’ student while different from the traditional year 12 pathway to university has been really easy at Flinders; I haven’t felt out of place in any of my topics or with other students.
There are three things I love about being a Flinders student –
The culture and diversity of student population,
The staff have been fantastic and easy to approach, they understand that I am not only a full time student but that I have a life outside of the university playing at senior level football,
The facilities are amazing with easy access and lots of trees it offers a great place to not only be indoors but to enjoy the lake and gardens. I can’t wait until the new Hub and Plaza is finished, it looks very exciting.
Juggling footy training and game days with university study is not without its challenges but with the support of the university staff and the club he says he has managed to create good work and study habits that have been very helpful in making sure he stays on track and completes his work on time.