Michelle Laing

I grew up in Manchester, England as the youngest of three and I finished High School in 1992, just before my 16th birthday.  I went straight into the workforce and over twenty years I’ve worked in Senior Administration roles for the British and Australian governments and for large medical firms delivering electronic health projects.

I'd always wanted to be a nurse.  I didn’t do that well at school and decided to leave early.  The school careers adviser told me I wasn’t clever enough to be a nurse and that I should be a secretary instead.  I loved some of the health-related administration roles I worked in for years, but I felt like something was missing. I wanted to be on the front line, so I made the leap.  I did a year’s University preparation program at UNSW part-time to get me back into studying and then I applied for UTS and made it!

I chose UTS because of its strong reputation.  I’ve worked with a lot of nurses and doctors and I canvassed their opinions.  They all told me UTS was the clear leader.  I don’t regret that decision for one minute.  It’s been the greatest three years.

The most rewarding aspect of the course was gaining confidence.  Learning that I could do it and that I excelled in nursing really helped me to see that I’d made the right choice.  I felt completely supported every step of the way. I also became involved in areas such as UPASS and SPROUTS which was so rewarding!

I've changed completely during my studies.  My self-confidence in my abilities and my beliefs has grown so much.  I now have the education to back my opinions.  I’ve become so much more pragmatic.  My time management and organisation really helped and definitely improved.  I learned who I really am and that’s been an amazing thing!

I've got my dream job now at St. Vincent’s Hospital.  I’m doing six months in Drug and Alcohol, Infections Diseases, Gastro and Endocrine and then I’m going into six months inpatient Mental Health.  I can’t wait.  St. Vincent’s mission and values fit with mine, so working there has been a hugely rewarding and humbling experience.

My advice for future students: Immerse yourself in your learning. Get involved in everything on offer.  If you’re not sure something’s for you, go for it anyway.  You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.  And for the mature-agers – You can do it! You can juggle everything and still have a life.  Don’t say “I always wanted to…” Just do it.

Studying at UTS has been a wonderful experience.  The teaching staff and the university staff are all so passionate about what they do – you can’t help but love it.  I hope to be involved with UTS in many ways over the years.  I’m proud to say I went to UTS and I was proud to wear the purple shirt. Thanks UTS for helping secure my future.  I achieved my goals of becoming a nurse before the age of 40!