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Tony back at Uni to final get that Degree!

Official letter of enrollment for 2004 Academic record for first 10 years So what happened? Well, who would have picked it that in 2004 I would be back at Monash University finally completing that Bachelor of Applied Science. So why now? Why after 12 years and everyone in the world telling me that I was not to finish that degree!

Looking back, I guess really what finally did was dad having a stroke late in 2003. It reminded me that we are not all invincible. It got me thinking about a lot of things. Especially things that dad had always told me and about things dad had said I had left undone - almost always not finishing that bloody degree. I guess it took that to finally before it finally sunk in my head.

During this time I became General Manager at Traralgon Printers. I was continually reminded about my incomplete degree as I had to drive past Monash University every single working day. And even though I enjoyed the role of General Manager and working in the Printing sector, my heart has always been in IT sector. Besides, after I replaced absolutely everyone in the business with proper fine young professionals, fixed the printing press, refurbished the work shop and took over Impressions Printing, most of the hard work was done.

But if I was to get back to the IT sector, I really should finish that degree. After all, that would most likely mean moving to Melbourne and I would never finish my degree from there. So now I got thinking on a plan! A major problem has that I had completed all the units for the degree over 10 years ago and so as a result, they longer are counted. But never scared of challenge, I was confident that Monash and I could reach some sort of compromise. You see I actually had completed more units than was actually needed to get a degree. I just did not complete a compulsory unit called the "Maths Project" - naughty Tony! I was aware that being over 10 years ago was a serious issue so I did not want to push the angle of asking to awarded a degree out right. I thought if I made it clear that I was prepared to go back and do some more units, get good marks and show that I was a capable science student then it would be only fair to award that degree.

One morning, I woke and though I better get the ball rolling. I went and saw the various lectures and officials with Monash in early 2004. After several meetings and a well drafted letter to Clayton, Monash decided that despite being over 10 ago, when the considered why academic and professional achievements, the agreed to credit all my past results and award me a degree if I completed one third level mathematics unit and one first level science unit !

I was in Europe with Dad at his sisters place in Czech when they gave me the official "yes". I was so excited (and still am)! It turns out that that Maths unit is like doing 2 units (the lecturer is a real task master) and with having to review a lot of complex mathematics from over 10 years ago, All up there is about 30 hours a week of study, lectures, tutorials and assignments. So when I got back, I worked it out with the owners of Traralgon Printers and I was free to go! Besides, Wayne Forsyth (ex Messenger Champion Designer and Team Leader) was now quite settled into the business and was more than capable of taking up the new challenges that would arise.

So off to Monash Uni I go to be a full-time student. I even get Austudy! I just wonder if I can pull off the sort of magic results I did in the past. And when all this is done, well, who knows what will happen next to me and where I will go!

PS - I sincerely thank Associate Professor Phillip Rayment, Deputy Head of School, Gippsland School of Applied Sciences! I am forever grateful for his support and assistance in making all this possible. I also would like to that Associate Professor Robert Bignall (recently appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor, Malaysia Campus), Professor Brian MacKenzie (Pro Vice-chancellor, Gippsland Campus), Professor John Anderson (Pro Vice-chancellor, South Africa Campus), Cate Reilly, Manager of Regional Centre of ICT and Professor Laurence Dooley, Executive Director of Gippsland School of Computing and Information Technology, Lynda Bertolli (Managing Director of Sage Technology for their references and letters of support! The degree has been a long time coming and I intend to make everyone proud again - including myself!

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