003: When The Grass Isn't Always Greener
Meet Laura Polson • Oxley Island NSW
Bachelor of Media & Communications from the University of Wollongong
"Some of my best experience that I've gotten in my career has actually been in my hometown." In this episode, we chat to Taree local Lauran Polson - after growing up on Oxley Island and studying a Bachelor of Media and Communications at the University of Wollongong, she is now an Internal Communications officer for MidCoast Council.
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Intro 00:13
Hey there, thank you for joining us for Six Degrees of Study: An Uneducational Podcast. Today we have Laura Paulson, a Taree local growing up on Oxley Island, and is now an internal communications officer at MidCoast Council, after studying a Bachelor of Media and Communications at the University of Wollongong. We want to show you how it's highly likely there's only six degrees of separation between you, the career and the life you want. This is the Six Degrees Podcast.
Donna 00:41
Hello, Laura.
Laura 00:43
Hi Donna.
Donna 00:43
Thank you for joining us, I am so excited to have this little chat with you. So tell us, I guess for the people that don't know Laura Polson, tell us a little bit about your life personally at the moment and just professionally, what you're doing.
Laura 00:59
Great. So I guess I might just start personally, because in a way, it's kind of taken me a long time to get here. Because at the moment, I'm really enjoying living back on Oxley Island on my family's farm. And I really enjoy getting to spend time with my new puppy, Dolly, who is a Corgi and she's gorgeous. And I'm really, I'm just really excited to be back in the area. I moved back about eight months ago. And some of my friends had moved back and my family are here and my partner is here. So personally, I'm going really well. And then professionally, same deal. Yeah. Which, you know, again, it takes you a long time to get here, especially in your 20s when it's lots of different changes and things like that. So at the moment, I am the internal communications officer at MidCoast Council. So basically Council has about 1000 workers. And yeah, and it makes sense because we cover 90,000 people in the community. It's such a big area, we've got Gloucester, Forster, Taree and all the wonderful little towns in between. And basically, I'm in there to try and look at how we can improve our communications, whether that's having a staff newsletter, or running the intranet and things like that. But I sort of mentioned before, it's taken me a long time to get here. I feel like it's taken me a long time to get here in terms of having a balance between my professional and personal life. I've had, before I was an internal communications officer, I was a journalist and such an amazing, rewarding career. But it kept me away from here for a few years, which was, you know, a really great experience living Sydney and Brisbane. But I missed my family, I missed my friends, I didn't have the opportunity to have a puppy! So yeah, to answer your question in full is that professionally and personally, things are kind of finally in balance, which is really nice.
Donna 02:50
Beautiful, beautiful. So tell us about your path from high school through uni. How did that go for you? Was it the typical thing where you knew in high school what you wanted to do? You instantly then went into that degree and it all fell into place? Was yours, one of those perfect kind of transitions to uni? Or how was it for you?
Laura 03:11
Ah, no.
Donna 03:14
That's generally the answer I get.
Laura 03:17
So I went to Taree High School. And I just was always the person that like nothing really stood out to me in terms of what I should do or what I should be. My marks in English might be better than my science marks and things like that. But I was really, there was no career path in mind. For me, I couldn't say "I want to be this". But that's why the degree that I chose kind of really suited that. The whole idea was Media and Communications. It's very broad, it's very flexible. So that was a really great, great step after high school, just go "okay, it's okay that I don't know what I want to do. I'll just go into this career, in this degree and see what happens." And I also actually had originally enrolled in a double degree. I was like, "Okay, I'll do my communications. And then I'll do a creative arts degree. And that will make me the perfect whatever I'm going to be." But in my first kind of weeks of uni, I found that I really wasn't enjoying the creative arts side to my degree. It was more so that it's not that I'm not a creative person, but I'm probably more creative in terms of how I solve problems. Whereas they were kind of giving me a paintbrush, and it takes a very, you know, being an artist is a skill, and I didn't have that skill. And it really freaked me out. My first weeks of uni I was really starting to consider like, "Oh my goodness, maybe I need to not do uni at the moment. Maybe I need to have a gap year" and I was getting really stressed. I was five hours from home and all these things.
Donna 04:54
So which University did you go?
Laura 04:55
I was at the University of Wollongong.
Donna 04:58
Why was that your choice?
Laura 04:59
That was my choice because it was kind of like the perfect middle ground between Sydney - seemed a little bit big. But Wollongong was little bit bigger than a small town where I'd grown up. So it had all the exciting bells and whistles still, but it just wasn't overwhelming and had a beach really close. So of course, I was gonna go there. So it was really good. But those first overwhelming feelings and being like, "do I just pack it all in?" but I didn't. And I realized that it's actually really easy to change your degree. And it's really easy to change your subjects.
Donna 05:35
I think sometimes you feel like you've got to have the right decision made when you leave Year 12. And it's just more and more that flexibility that you can change your mind along the way is a really important message to get out there. You don't have to have all the answers in year 12.
Laura 05:48
Exactly. And I wish I knew that, I think it would save the first couple of weeks of pain, but it was easy. I changed subjects, I had to be brought up to speed really quick. And then from then on out, I was sailing. The next three years of my degree, I really really enjoyed it. I'm a total nerd. So I was totally happy. Like, you know, not many people ever say they like lectures, and I would always be like, I like lectures. But that's just the nature of me I guess. And I think that my degree offered me the the ability to do a lot of different subjects and try different things in media communication. So I ended up majoring in marketing and advertising. But I'm minored in journalism and professional writing. So it actually kind of meant that I had quite a few career options when it came towards the end. And it suited me as a person who just likes variety.
Donna 06:43
So how long ago did you finish that degree?
Laura 06:46
So I finished in 2014. So that would be six years ago now.
Donna 06:50
Okay, and even though you love lectures and study, you haven't ventured into any other studying since then? You're quite content with what you've got on your plate, I guess?
Laura 06:58
Well, yeah, I think I am. But to be honest, I always kind of knew, because I did have that feeling when I was at high school that I was like, I don't really know what I'm gonna do. This is always very much felt like, this is what I'm going to do for now. But because I do have that interest in all these different subjects, it has always been a bit of a dream of mine to re-study and re-skill. And that's part of the reason why, when I heard about Taree Universities Campus, it really did open my eyes to maybe what my opportunities could be like in future and maybe I can tap into those other things that I'm interested in.
Donna 07:35
Yeah. So when you finished your degree, did that then land you into a job straight away? Did you have to mould yourself into something different? Or did it just fall into place for you to walk into the job that you were thinking you'd have at the end of your degree?
Laura 07:49
I was, I would say exceptionally lucky in terms of the first job that I had. And that was, just the whole process was pretty extreme. I was doing my last exams ever for University, at the same time flying home to Taree to interview for a position at the Manning River Times. And basically, again, I didn't know what I was going to do, but a job had come up and it was just like, "Okay, there's a maternity position at the Manning River Times in Taree. Maybe I could be a journalist, it's a part of my degree, maybe I could give it a try." So basically, I think I finished uni, like literally the last exam, and then maybe the next week, I started in the job, which is really, really lucky. And that's why I look back, you know, at that time with the Manning River Times and I look at Tony Bell the editor, and I think, "Wow, she gave me a chance." I don't think I would have been a journalist if she hadn't given me that chance.
Donna 08:48
And I know that Tony has actually done that with so many people, but she's really been that creative force for so many people.
Laura 08:55
Exactly. Yeah. So that stage of my degree, my career, which was two and a half years at the local paper in Taree & Forster is probably gonna hands down be the most rewarding part of my career. And I hear that from a lot of like, local regional journalists, because how often do you get the opportunity to go back to your town and tell the stories and see it differently? I remember, you grow up in a small town and you think "I need to get away!" and then you come back when you're older and your eyes honestly are just opened you're just like, "we have everything that I wanted here and there's amazing people here" and by being able to tell the stories at the paper that's really what opened me up to that. But then as well you still get you growing pains and you still go "okay, I really enjoyed this time, I need to go away." So I went to Brisbane and Sydney and I worked as a journalist with the Australian Associated Press which is the National Newswire. That was a mind blowing crazy experience, it's given me some pretty crazy skills in terms of breaking news and red carpets and just, I can't even explain how wild that sort of job is. But it also wasn't for me. And that's a pretty big thing to realize in your 20s. This is so glamorous and fun. But at the end of the day, I was like, "I still don't think this is what I want to do with my career." But I know that I had a degree, which was Media and Communications, that meant maybe I can try something else. And a big part of that is what I kind of referenced in the beginning is that I loved being away. I loved getting to do those exciting things. But I didn't have that personal balance, because everyone I loved was back here. And so, to answer your question, my degree has basically been able to give me options to come back here, because now I'm using a different part of my degree. I'm still using some of my skills as journalist, but maybe more of those media skills and things like that.
Donna 11:08
Yeah. So you've done a really nice, well rounded degree that's opened doors to other things than just what you thought was in front of you at the time. There's a question in here, I'm not sure - you don't seem old enough to ask this question of, you know, what pearl of wisdom do you wish someone had told you when you were younger? Like, what was that kind of thing: If I only had known?
Laura 11:33
I definitely do have a little bit of idea. I know I have lots more to learn. But if I was talking to say, like a high school student or someone who is young and starting out and just wants to get skills, something that I think I didn't realize was that we have so much here to get involved with. Like, for instance, some of my best experience that I've gotten in my career has actually been in my hometown. For example, when I worked at the paper, I also got to do a little like radio show at 2Bob. So you're getting those radio skills, because we have community radio here. Another example of that is working with loads of local music festivals, for instance, Wingham Akoostik Festival, which I know Donna, you know, a little bit about. But again, I get to work on publicity for a music festival in my local area. And I've done that, the same thing for Grow Your Own music festival in Forster and things like that. So I guess my message to them is that sometimes we think we need to go away to get all these amazing experience. But there's a lot of things here that you can get involved with, you can start something. All those opportunities came - especially with you, Donna - was probably a conversation being like, "I'd really like to get involved with Wingham Akoostik Festival," and then you get involved with them. So I guess for high school students, if you want to start a radio show, if you want to work in music festivals, there's really exciting things here that you can get involved with. And they're things that can really help you with your university degree. Because not only do you have to study hard and know what's going on, you've got to get that on the ground experience. And it's nice to know that you have the opportunity to study here, but also get experience on the ground.
Donna 13:20
Yeah, real community experience that goes with it. Laura, what would have it meant to you if TUC - Taree Universities Campus - had been around when you finished high school? I guess I'm just keen to know whether you would have still wanted to have that adventure and move away? Or whether you would have ... What do you think your thought process would have been at that time if that option was there?
Laura 13:42
I think that option probably would have just made things, it would have given me a peace of mind, take a bit of the pressure off. Because like I mentioned before, when I first got to uni, and it felt like it wasn't working out, and I started to think like, "maybe I need to come home" or all those sorts of things, like imagine if there was - well there's going to be - a university there that if I needed some time to fall back on my feet, that that opportunity is there.
Donna 14:11
Yeah, without you having to drop out, you've got a back up plan.
Laura 14:14
Yeah exactly, because there's so many reasons that people might need to come home for certain times, like economic reasons, family reasons. It's really nice to think that people won't have to stop their studies if they wanted to come back. But then at the same time, maybe growing up as a high school student here, knowing that the option's there, it would have just given me a bit more time to study here, think about what I'd want to do. I really think it's such an exciting thing that people just have options now.
Donna 14:34
We're really hoping too that it will become more like a natural progression from high school. The fact that university doesn't feel like you've got to have everything in place to move away, that you can go "well, there's university here. When I finish high school, I'll probably give that a go." It becomes more of an option rather than such a big choice to make.
Laura 15:04
Yeah, I totally agree with that. I think that, just as I've spoke about during the podcast, university really did open doors for me and the door of university should be open to everyone. It shouldn't just be because, there's no denying that when you move away for university, there's expenses there, whether you might have to be supported financially by your parents, the government, or you might have to work. And it's just a really big relief, I think, that this is gonna open the doors for any student that lives in our area. And I think that's so important.
Donna 15:39
That's our total aim, to be accessible for people and just deliver on what they want to achieve with their life. I can't wait.
Laura 15:46
And maybe, you know, people like me, maybe I'll be re studying! It opens the doors for them too.
Donna 15:54
That would be fabulous Laura! I'd love to have you come along as a mature aged student, that would be just brilliant.
Laura 15:57
Oh, my gosh "mature aged", thanks Donna!
Donna 15:58
Just rubbing it in! Thank you so much for your time today. It's been really intriguing to hear your story. Thank you so much.
Laura 16:08
Thanks so much, Donna.
Intro 16:12
Thanks for listening to today's episode of the Six Degrees Podcast. This podcast is produced by UpBound Business Consultants and is brought to you by Taree Universities Campus. Based on the New South Wales Barrington Coast, TUC a hub for supporting Distance Education study for university students with campus facilities, mentoring, post grad career opportunities, and more. If you'd like to share your story, you can send us an email at podcast@tareeuni.org.au and let us know your unconventional road to a degree. Until next time.