Vice Chancellor’s Scholar and recipient of a New England Award, Brett Sang, recently graduated from UNE with a Bachelor of Psychological Science.
As a former Lifeline volunteer, he is well aware of the demand for physical, emotional, social and economic support among rural and regional Australians. And he one day hopes to offer no or low-cost telehealth appointments to vulnerable people, including those living outside our major capitals.
Here he reflects on his UNE studies.
“I studied hard mainly due to my love of learning. I focused not on high grades, but on understanding and remembering everything that was presented to me. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to immerse myself in a concept or skill that gave me joy when I mastered it. I'm deeply motivated and interested in psychology.
Brett between UNE Chancellor James Harris and Vice Chancellor Chris Moran at graduation.
A lecturer once told me that he didn't think anyone was really smarter than another person. It is just how much effort you put in. I can attest to this, having studied in previous degree subjects where I wasn't motivated, wasn't interested, didn't put in the effort and received passes or fails.
I also acknowledge the quality of the teaching and course materials in helping me to achieve my grades. UNE lecturers are among the best — if not the best — I've experienced. As an online student, interaction on Moodle, Zoom, and outside of uni with staff and students enriched my learning, connection with others and overall satisfaction. Whenever I didn't understand something, I asked for help. And I tried to help others if and when I could, too.
UNE lecturers are among the best — if not the best — I've experienced.
I aimed to understand 100% of the content and achieve 100% in my assessments. That way, if I fell short I still performed excellently. But I didn't need to be perfect. Good enough was getting close enough to my goal of doing as well as I could in any unit. I also determined realistically how much time I needed to achieve my study plan. This involved reducing my unit study load per trimester.
A love of learning, effort, giving myself sufficient time to study, aiming high, and enjoying the experience were principles that I applied to my studies. I wish all graduands the best and thank the wonderful teaching and support staff at UNE.”
