A Ferny Hills woman working in banking and a Bray Park man in the funeral industry plan to be among next year’s first students at USC Moreton Bay after they completed a free six-month university pathway program.

Cammi Leung, 32, and Nigel Richards, 45, were among dozens of people who enrolled in USC’s Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP) program, held this semester at Bray Hall.

The program will be offered at the new University campus at Petrie in 2020 to equip more people in the Moreton Bay region with the skills and knowledge for undergraduate study.

Ms Leung, a banking consultant of five years who’s always been fascinated by genetics, has applied to study Biomedical Science at USC Moreton Bay next year.

“It’s close to home and work, it’s a new campus and I would love to be one of the first students there,” said the Maleny State High School graduate.

“I did TPP so I can learn what I want to learn and achieve what I want to do. At school, I was interested in genetics but didn’t think it was something I could do. I would like to study genetic research – how to solve medical mysteries by rebuilding a person’s genetic code.

“I studied TPP while looking after my two young children and working part-time, and I hope my situation motivates other people to take the chance, too. TPP has set a good expectation of what it'll be like to study at USC next year.”

Mr Richards, a former pizza shop owner/manager, said it had been a daunting decision to pursue tertiary study almost 30 years after attending Gympie State High School.

“After school I completed an apprenticeship as a motor trimmer, then worked in warehousing, the food industry, building industry sales, sheet metal work and the tax industry before the past six years in the funeral industry,” he said.

“My ambition is to work as a nurse, so I studied TPP to gain access to higher education. I’ve applied to study Nursing Science next year because I enjoy helping others, and the location of USC Moreton Bay at Petrie will help me cut down on travel expenses.

“I found TPP quite intense, a massive learning curve, and yet rewarding to feel I had learnt something new. My lecturers were very helpful and supportive.”

USC Head of Preparation Pathways Dr Kerry Rutter said the completion of TPP gave students direct entry to most of the University’s programs through QTAC and USC’s standard application process.

Dr Rutter said TPP offered 10 courses, ranging from academic skills and critical thinking to specific disciplines such as maths and statistics.

“It can be a life-changing program for people of any age. We’ve had students aged from 17 to 82 and our median age is about 34 years,” she said.

“Some haven’t finished high school, some are already professionals who haven’t studied in a long time. They come with life skills they don’t realise are important and useful.

“We already have 40 people enrolled in TPP at USC Moreton Bay and 80 at USC Caboolture next year, so I would urge anyone who is keen to apply as soon as possible.”

Australia’s newest university campus, USC Moreton Bay, will open at Petrie in Semester 1, 2020, offering almost 50 undergraduate degrees including business, education, computer science and mechatronic engineering.

A range of scholarships are available, including Moreton Bay Regional Council Scholarships worth $8,000 for each year of study.

For information on how to apply to USC, go to www.usc.edu.au/learn