Degree increases confidence
Maree Brosnahan - Student story
Name: Maree Brosnahan | |
The first person in the country to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Social Sciences from The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Maree Brosnahan got a kick out of walking across the stage at graduation.
“It is quite cool to be the first to gain a degree in the Social Sciences from The Open Polytechnic,” says Maree, who has previously graduated with a Diploma in Psychology and a Diploma in Health and Human Behaviour from the distance education specialist.
Based in Oamaru, Maree works as a computing facilitator at Aoraki Polytechnic, helping students on a one-to-one basis with any computer based problems they may have when doing their polytechnic studies.
She initially enrolled in psychology papers with The Open Polytechnic after attending a conference on autism on behalf of her then employer. “I was interested in what the psychologists and speech therapists were saying at this conference, but I couldn’t understand half of what was being said – so I decided to start finding out more,” says Maree.
“Because I was working and had young children at the time, studying with The Open Polytechnic was really convenient. There was also nothing like that offered locally that I could make the time to get to,” she says.
The Bachelor of Arts majoring in Social Sciences at The Open Polytechnic is an interdisciplinary qualification based on courses licensed from the Open University in the UK, which has been adapted to reflect the New Zealand context. Students engage with several Social Sciences disciplines including sociology, anthropology, human geography, political science, history, and cultural studies through a range of study materials. “I liked all of the papers I did, I started off on psychology papers and was able to cross-credit those as electives into the degree,” says Maree.
With study materials delivered to their doors, students have the flexibility to study where and when it suits them. Access to lecturers and support staff via email and freephone means that help is close by when students need it. Chatting to fellow students via the Polytechnic’s Online Campus, and being able to order books from the Polytechnic’s Library helps create a virtual campus for students.
“I much prefer distance study because I can learn at my own speed, I would do my study whenever I could during the day or night,” explains Maree who as a single parent fitted her studies around her family’s needs.
“I found the study materials supplied by The Open Polytechnic really clear and easy to read. Anytime I got stuck on an assignment I would give my lecturers a call, they were really knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects and I would get really caught up in their enthusiasm. When I didn’t understand something they would always put me back on the right path.”
Graduation isn’t the end of Maree’s learning journey. “Completing my degree has increased my confidence and shown me that I have the ability to achieve in education at a higher level, I am now looking at undertaking post-graduate studies.”
She would also like to encourage others to engage in higher education. “My research project for my degree was on the welfare state and how those people dependant on it accessed education. Sadly, many of them felt it wasn’t for them. But after my own study experiences I can see that higher education is really accessible, and I think it is never too late in life to learn new skills so that you have better career options. I would really like to encourage others to give it a go, especially women currently on a benefit or in unskilled employment, as gaining a qualification empowers you and can open up the doors to earn a higher income and gain a better quality of life,” says Maree.
