“Courage, motivation, dedication and a supportive social circle, are all you need to pursue your dreams and be who you always only ever dreamed of being.” Rose Bristow, our Financial Manager, has set yet another example for the world, that it is never too late to become more capable, as she graduated from CQU with a Bachelor of Accounting degree recently. What’s more… Rose graduated with her daughter on the very same day. Even better… She earned a distinction! We couldn’t be prouder to have her in our team.

Going back to university whilst successfully holding a full-time managerial position demonstrates Rose’s commendable courage. Rose has always wanted to continue learning and improving her skill set but finding the motivation to go back to university in a fast-paced life is not something that everybody can easily do. Some encouragement from her past manager and lots of support from her family is all it took for Rose to resume her education and boost her career.

“Initially it felt like the units were revision because I already had an advance diploma in accounting until mid-way through the course, I had to do some law units. Doing the whole course on a part time basis meant that each year I would be with a fresh cohort, some straight out of high school, needless to say I was the oldest student there”

Studying with her daughter, although in a different course, allowed Rose to come even closer to her daughter as they became “study buddies” and would proofread each other’s assignments. Of course, it was challenging for Rose to maintain a work-study-life balance and it took many long, tough nights to meet university deadlines, but in the end it was a memorable and worthwhile experience.

“My lecturers were all really helpful, CQU is a good university which has a community feel about it. I would encourage anyone who may not have studied for quite a while to do what I did, it is never too late to go back to studying.”

Rose continues to fascinate us with her dedication towards self-improvement and delivering her best efforts at work as well as in her personal life. She is an inspiration to all those professionals who wait for the perfect time to pursue their dreams.

“Now that I have finished the course, I intend to spend my free time with family, though would like to brush up on my language skills at some point.”

We wish Rose and her daughter the best of luck and success in all their future endeavours. We are proud to have Rose as a part of our fabulous team!