Nick Parkinson
Nick Parkinson cares deeply about making schools somewhere students can thrive, not just survive. He's an education researcher with the Grattan Institute, and he's training to be a teacher with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.
From languages and exchange programs to breadth subjects and internships, Nick's BA offered him every opportunity to make the most of his time at uni – and he took them all.
Thinking about uni
I think that when I was in VCE, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. And I wonder if part of that was because I knew that I'd probably have many jobs, and so I wanted a degree that would prepare me and really equip me with these skills that would serve me no matter what I was doing.
Starting Arts
That exchange was a fantastic opportunity. I learnt Spanish, I was lucky that I got to live and breathe in Spain... […] This has stuck with me now as I train to be a Spanish teacher, and I just think, 'What a great opportunity to have been able to study in Spain, but have all the support of Melbourne Uni behind me.
Launching my career
I was really lucky – in my last year of the Bachelor of Arts, I did a great subject called Parliamentary Internship. The University placed me with a member of Parliament, so I developed connections with people who are deeply interested in thinking about politics.