Bindi Horvath dropped out of school after Year 10, had her first child at 18 and worked a series of jobs from hairdresser to legal secretary to cleaner.

Now the Gympie resident has a plum position as a graduate nurse on a hospital’s acute surgical ward after receiving a medal for academic excellence with a university nursing science degree – all before the age of 40.

She tells her story:

“I’m an ‘army brat’ so my father’s work had us move to a different state every two years. I went to so many schools. My first after-school job was in an ice-cream parlour. I dropped out of high school after Year 10 due to some pretty awful bullying.

I was living out of home at 15, paying my own way on $138 a week in a tiny unit right on the Burpengary train station with a similarly aged roommate.

I got my Cert 3 in business administration and a full-time job as a legal receptionist, then moved up to secretary, then conveyancer.

My first child was born when I was 18 and my now-husband, Chris, was 20. My husband and I have been together for 22 years. We have three incredibly talented kids – Deklan, Rogue and Imoen – but we also, together, moved through the loss of our second child, Hunter.

After working at the legal firm, I became a resort cleaner, then moved up to the supervisor of the holiday letting agency for whom I cleaned. I worked at a car company as an aftermarket consultant and did a brief stint as a telemarketer for the rural fire brigade.

I became a hairdresser for almost a decade, gained my Cert 3 in Fitness, and worked as a virtual assistant and a copywriter. Now this!

In 2019, I enrolled at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Gympie campus and started a Bachelor of Nursing Science mid-year.

I’d always loved writing and had nursing in the back of my mind but didn’t think I was smart enough. I was a high achiever through school but expected a university degree – particularly one requiring knowledge that can literally, and sometimes immediately, change a person’s life – to be beyond my capabilities.

It was only when my friend of 20 years, Zoë, said she was going for it, that I decided to go for it, too. She is also studying at UniSC, but a different campus, and will graduate next year.

I chose Gympie 99 percent because it was the closest campus and 1 percent because I loved how small it was; I didn’t feel like I would get lost in a sea of faces and random names.

I was right. One of the highlights was the friends I made. I gradually realised I could do pretty much anything I set my mind to. I put myself out of my comfort zone and basked in the opportunities afforded me by doing so.

In some ways the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge because my cohort missed out on a lot of practical classes. But, on the bright side, most of what we needed to know was taught on the first day of placement and is now second nature. And I rather enjoyed zoom classes because I’m an introvert at heart.

I loved working in the Critical Care Unit at Buderim Private Hospital for my internship; I learned so much there. Managing time was challenging because I was doing full-time shift work while studying one subject and travelling up to two and a half hours a day. I missed classes but just did my best submitting rushed assignments at the last minute.

In 2022 I gained employment at Gympie Hospital as an Undergraduate Student In Nursing (USIN). I now work as a graduate nurse at its Acute Services Unit, where I did placements.

The 26-bed medical/surgical ward cares for patients with a variety of conditions and diseases requiring acute care, including respiratory, oncology, geriatrics and palliative.

I love the vocation of nursing. I have the opportunity every shift to make someone happier, more comfortable, healthier. And I get to go to work in scrubs, which are basically pyjamas.

When I was asked to give the graduate address at UniSC’s April ceremony on campus at Sippy Downs, I was taken by surprise; it wasn’t even on my radar. I was out with a friend who was shopping for her graduation outfit when I got the email. (Curious as to how many people refused before I was asked!)

Giving a speech to an arena of people was out of my comfort zone but I’ll never regret it.

I maintained a GPA of 7 (out of 7) for almost two years and ended on a GPA of 6.63. I’m exceptionally proud of receiving a Medal for Academic Excellence. I didn’t even know the medals were a thing until my last semester. I have no idea what to do with it, but it’s very shiny and it has my name on it.

It meant a lot to have family in the crowd at graduation. I would often feel ‘mum guilt’ for spending more time in front of my laptop than with my kids.

But I love their pride in me. I was able to show them that a person can come from a difficult background and still succeed. They can do whatever they set their mind to, too. A period of darkness doesn’t have to determine the course of your life.”

Bindi was among more than 800 people who graduated at seven UniSC ceremonies on campus at Sippy Downs in April, 2023. More than 3,000 family members and friends cheered them on at UniSC Arena over three days.

 For information on studying at UniSC, go to https://www.usc.edu.au/study/student-support

For information on student support at UniSC, go to https://www.usc.edu.au/study/student-support